Crisp visuals and cheesy sentimentally fill the Screen in Spielberg’s, ‘Ready Player One’

By Jose Gil

“Ready Player One” is a nostalgic overload of the senses and an overall thrilling movie. It is a return to a time when Steven Spielberg would crank out blockbusters. It has all the classic tropes of a Spielberg film – crisp special effects, cheesy sentimentality, kid heroes – but with a modern twist.

The reliance on all of these well-known and not so well-known video game and movie references is a divisive subject surrounding the movie. Some people might find it overbearing and distracting, while others enjoy playing a game of “Where’s Waldo” and spotting their favorite characters. If you don’t know what side of the fence you fall on I suggest watching the trailer and deciding from there. Personally speaking, I left that movie feeling like a kid in a candy shop filled with all of my favorite childhood memories.

The premise is simple, the year is 2045 and humanity is hooked on the OASIS, a virtual reality software that allows you to be whoever and whatever you want to be. And in a setting of poverty and hardship it’s no wonder why people would be onboard with this fantasy world. So when the creator of the OASIS, James Halliday (played by Mark Rylance), dies and leaves behind three trials that when completed would grant the winner full control of his software and trillions of dollars, the entire world races to be the first.

Wade Watts (portrayed by Tye Sheridan), his name a reference to all the alliterated superhero alter egos, is your typical hero’s journey protagonist. Think Luke from a “A New Hope.” Wade and his avatar Parzival are picked from the same one-dimensional and simply uninteresting barrel that should be expected from a movie like this. A better movie would have focused on his friend Aech (pronounced H), played by Lena Waithe. A far more interesting character who cracks jokes, modifies the game, and has a swagger to his personality.

Adding to the problem of a boring protagonist, the movie doubles down and adds a sappy relationship between Wade/Parzival and his crush, Samantha/Art3mis (played by Olivia Cooke). The relationship manages to feel rushed and also dragged out. It might be my cynicism kicking in, but why can’t we have a movie that doesn’t fall into this trap?  

While not at all perfect, the film is a great movie to just kick back and enjoy. Within the first 20 minutes of the movie you see an adrenaline fueled car race, jam packed with obstacles like the T-Rex from “Jurassic Park” and King Kong.

At the halfway mark you get the best sequence of the filma truly disturbing homage to Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining.” All of the film’s iconic scenes play out as the characters tumble through the Overlook Hotel. A sense of dread and fear slowly begins to creep in, but luckily a couple jokes are cracked at the end and the tension is lifted.

The finale is an all out war of filled with so many characters and little easter eggs that it’s hard to contain excitement. And while I won’t spoil one of the coolest moments of that scene, I’ll just say that 10-year old Jose’s mind would be blown.  

“Ready Player One” is a celebration of all that we loved growing up. It isn’t trying to be an Oscar winning film, it’s just pure entertainment for all ages to enjoy. Even though the movie has character and pacing issues it’s a trip down memory lane well worth the price of admission.

Photo retrieved by Flickr

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