Ready Player One

Keys hidden in a VR game world unlock the fortune of the inventor of the OASIS and control over it, so a group of kids must stop a shady Corporation getting the prize.

Like ET crossed with Willy Wonka, Ready Player One is Spielberg back to classic Spielberg - the kids are fighting off the big bad business boss while trying to win the grand prize of a tech giant's fortune and control of the OASIS, a virtual reality world used by most of the planet's population to escape the horrors of their everyday lives. The tech giant in question is the socially awkward but big dreaming James Halliday expertly played by Mark Rylance in a Brian May wig (originally Spielberg wanted Gene Wilder to play the role before his untimely death in 2016) who lived pop culture references and so made all the challenges (all different to the ones in the 2011 book by Ernest Cline) based around his obsession with 1970s & 80s pop culture.

Characters including the Iron Giant, Harley Quinn, MechaGozilla, Chucky, Lara Croft and King Kong all make an appearance alongside references from games like Overwatch, Pitfall, Mortal Kombat, Joust, Street Fighter II, Bioshock, Battle Toads and Mass Effect and more than enough film nods like Back to the Future, Alien, Saturday Night Fever, Robocop, Monty Python & the Holy Grail, Jurassic Park, Beetlejuice, Terminator 2, Mad Max and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. The amazing thing is that the constant search for these on-screen glimpses doesn't distract at all from the story and, in typical Spielberg fashion, the action and narrative are married perfectly with one never overshadowing the other.

There are a vast number of audience-made lists out there on forums documenting as many references as they can and there always seems to be one they've missed. It never ends. From the big ones (like an entire sequence set in a particular film which was completely missing from the trailer, so you'll get no spoilers here) to the little ones (like a briefly-mentioned artefact that turns time back by 60 seconds called the Zemeckis Cube, so named after the Back to the Future director), they flash by for you to either catch and enjoy or miss and never know that that was Freddy Krueger being punched in the balls by Duke Nukem.

Best Quote: "I mean ... it's nothing less than a war for control of the future."

This movie surprised me. Wasn't expecting much other than the animation. For those who compare it to the book, it's a movie. If you are disappointed stick to reading. From start to finish the story was entertaining and kept you engaged. If you want to see something different with your family I highly recommend. Bring out the popcorn.

Pretty good movie visually and even though the changes from the book are obvious but they don't spoil it. They are changes that have to be made so it translates well on to screen.

The comedy in the film is charming and not over the top. It fits in well with the film.

The visuals are awesome. There are so many Easter eggs and references from pop culture it's unbelievable that they managed to add so many. It'll take a long time to spot them all.

Overall I'd say this film is definitely worth a watch.

I've noticed quite a few reviews here from book fans complaining that the movie wasn't true to the novel. As a fan of the book, let me just say that's true but it's fine. The overarching story is the same. The fact of the matter is with a nearly 400 page novel packed full of pop culture references, some things would have to be cut to make it onto the big screen. Partially it's an issue of length. Partially it's just the reality that the planets were never going to fully align to allow use of many of the properties from the novel. Yes, I loved the 2112, WarGames, D&D, Joust, et al references from the novel as much as the next person, but still I felt that Spielberg captured the wonder and fun and the story of the novel accurately, even if he did so using different references. The are actually some things I even think were an improvement from the book, especially the way they re-imagined I-R0k. The bottom line is, if you're a book reader, just take this movie for what it is, an alternate version of the story, written by the same person who wrote the novel.

Watched 'Ready Player One' as someone who got a lot of pleasure out of the book and who loves a lot of Steven Spielberg's previous work. Despite it getting a fair share of criticism from fans of the book, that there were also enough good things said about it from critics and that many of my friends said it was worthwhile persuaded me enough to see it.

'Ready Player One' left me with a mixed view (or just slightly above). As a book adaptation 'Ready Player One' is severely wanting, having lost what made the book so special. As a film on its own, which is how it will be judged by me being a much fairer way to judge, 'Ready Player One' is quite decent though with faults. It is nowhere near being one of Spielberg's best, a distinction he has not hit for a while (though for me he has not sold out), at the same time it is not one of his misfires either. To me 'Ready Player One' is a middling effort.

Starting with its good merits, 'Ready Player One' looks incredible. One of those films where one is truly immersed in a world filled with a non-stop sense of wonder. The Oasis depiction is rich in wonder, adventure, vibrancy and imagination, the cool factor is also high. The special effects are pretty spectacular. Alan Silvestri provides the best score in a Spielberg film since 'War Horse' (and one of the best in the past fifteen years or so), providing a lot of energy and thrills.

Nostalgia is rife with inspired cameos of numerous significant cultural characters, like the 'Jurassic Park' dinosaur and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and even more numerous cultural references, highlights being the 'Back to the Future' Delorean and the Overlook Hotel from 'The Shining'. There is enough wit and intrigue in the writing and the story has many instances where it is fun and laden in thrills, the chase scenes especially. Particularly standing out is the one switching between real world and the Oasis. Spielberg delivers on the spectacle, the world building and the visual style.

Although not complex or subtle, the characters are engaging enough. Olivia Cooke is very appealing and shares charming chemistry with Tye Sheridan. Simon Pegg is great fun, while Ben Mendelssohn has a whale of a time as the villain and Mark Rylance beautifully and terrifically provides the emotion and soul that is not quite there elsewhere.

However, the story does tend to be lacking. There is just too little structurally in a very long, too long even, running time, no matter how many cultural references there are. With trying to take on a lot, character depth and development are sacrificed in favour of spectacle and nostalgia. Luckily those are done well, but one does wish that the characters were more interesting with the lead character in particular not having much growth.

This does affect somewhat Tye Sheridan's performance, shining in the chemistry with Cooke but elsewhere it's somewhat bland and cold. The script does have wit and intrigue but it can also be exposition heavy, and it is here where the writing feels rambling, unnatural and clumsy. There are aspects of Spielberg's directing that comes over well.

Unfortunately, what doesn't is the complete command of the material and giving the film enough soul and emotion (Rylance cannot bring those qualities out all on his own, no matter how well he did them). Some of the messaging is heavy-handed and the finale is far too overly-sentimental and where the sketchiness of the character development and overall depth is most betrayed.

Overall, diverting and entertaining enough but was expecting more. 6/10 Bethany Cox