Ready Player One (2018) Movie Review

Official RPO Poster

Directed by Steven Spielberg, Ready Player One is a film that results from the adaptation of the hit novel written by Ernest Cline, to the silver screen. For me, one crucial aspect in order to be able to appreciate an adaptation, no matter how long or dense the source material is, is to understand what an adaptation actually is and what it sets out to accomplish. It is not a carbon copy of the book, nor it is a completely different work of art; there’s a fine line between the amount of differences from the novel and the quantity of changes implemented and that is precisely the spot where an adaptation operates. 

Welcome to the OASIS

Therefore, going into this movie I was expecting to see a hybrid of Cline’s narrative coupled with Spielberg’s outstanding vision for what Ready Player One could be, once translated to the cinematic format. The movie follows the story of Wade Watts, a young man who is dedicating all of his free time on the adventurous quest of trying to find a golden Easter Egg hidden somewhere in the OASIS, a high-end virtual reality program where everyone can be anyone. The previously mentioned Easter Egg was created by James Halliday, the OASIS’s creator.

One of the keys needed to find the Golden Egg

Once he passed away, he surprised the world by saying that whosoever found three keys would get hold of the ultimate Easter Egg and thus gain absolute control over the OASIS. This is a pretty big deal, taking into account that the society in 2045 was deeply submerged into technology and people were more than invested in this larger than life interface. From a technical standpoint the film has no match; it is outstandingly crafted by Spielberg’s steady and experienced hand. 

Akira's motorbike speeding through

That initial chase sequence comes to mind as an example of the visual poetry on display and it is brutal and captures the fun at its rawest state: pure excitement! It was one of the set pieces that truly made my brain enter full “Vroooom!” mode and my inner child was gasping in awe. The film is filled with tons of easter eggs and references to pop culture and the average moviegoer may feel a bit overwhelmed, at times. However, while some of the references are there just for eye-popping results and to satisfy the geek fandom, most of them are integral to the plot.

King Kong looking at Parzival's personalized DeLorean

In other words, the easter eggs are there to enhance the story that is being told, either by the means of plot devices and McGuffins or via a simple visual treatment of a certain element of pop-culture. The score was composed by Alan Silvestri and it contains both callbacks to classic songs as well as original music. I had a blast watching the film, but not everything was gold-plated.  There are some occasional expositional moments dumped in the film, particularly in the first act, whose sole purpose is to keep the audience in check.

The Iron Giant blasting na oponente during a climactic battle

Although it is nice to have things explained to us, cinema is the ultimate platform to ‘show, rather than to tell’, and narration could have been avoided in favor of more audacious choices; as a result, certain plot points would not feel as spoon-fed as they did. The acting was solid all the way through the film and Tye Sheridan captured the naivety and the spirit of adventure of Wade/ Parzival (his avatar inside the OASIS) really well. All of the actors did a fine job, even though there was one scene a tad bit goofy, towards the end.

Aech and Parzival getting ready to gear up their arsenal inside the OASIS

My biggest complaint about the movie revolves around its resolution, mainly the way the antagonist was handled in later sections of the film. But I shall not spoil anyone. If you haven’t already, do yourself a favor and go see Ready Player One. They say Avengers Infinity War is the biggest crossover event to debut on the silver screen (which I wholeheartedly agree) but an argument could be made that such colossal feat may already have arrived in theatres, right under our noses.

Official RPO promotional banner

Ready Player One is bold and energetic, capturing the essence of what it means to experience non-stop thrills, punctuated by a tremendous soundtrack and directed by a man who encapsulates the best the seventh art has to offer.

With that being said, I rate Ready Player One with an A-. What about you? Have you seen it? What is your take on it? What were the coolest easter eggs that you were able to spot? Let the discussion begin! Make sure you jump into the comments’ section down below and share your thoughts.