Barely a few months after the release of high-brow political drama ‘The Post’, legendary Hollywood filmmaker Steven Spielberg is at the top of his game once again in sci-fi adventure, ‘Ready Player One’. This is a brisk-paced, reality-bending popcorn cruncher that offers such a terrifically fun adventure to audiences of all ages. There is so much to like about this film, I haven’t walked out of a cinema smiling so much in what feels like a long time, and I see a lot of films. ‘Ready Player One’ is based on the YA sci-fi novel of the same name by Ernest Cline, something I wasn’t aware of prior to seeing the film. Set in dystopian America after geopolitical disasters have destroyed nearly all of Earth’s resources, inhabitants live in makeshift towers made up of caravan homes stacked on top of one another in a sort of junkyard. The remaining people escape from their grim, less than picturesque surroundings by putting on a headset and plunging into the virtual reality world of the OASIS. The OASIS is the perfect imaginary world: you can be whoever you want, go wherever you want and get whatever you want by shuffling on the spot and toggling a joystick.
The brilliant and eccentric creator of the OASIS, James Halliday (played by Oscar winner Mark Rylance) has left his enormous fortune to the first player who can find a digital Easter egg he has hidden in the expansive OASIS, thus complete the game and take ownership of his enterprise. A competitive treasure hunt takes place all over the world in the breakneck race to be crowned Halliday’s successor. Leading us into this techno-based contest is seventeen-year-old orphan Wade Watts, who logs into his avatar from a nearby disused van. Admittedly, this isn’t the first time we have a nerdy teenager take on the big boys and become the unlikely contender to win the jackpot prize. But Spielberg more than gets away with upholding the stereotype, simply because ‘Ready Player One’ is firmly grounded in a not-too-distant (2045 isn’t that far away guys), futuristic America, and virtual reality is fast becoming the next big thing to transport people into a less mundane and much more exciting world. In many ways ‘Ready Player One’ is the ideal sci-fi action film. It’s not too long a running time for the story it’s trying to tell, it’s not too idiotic or convoluted a plot premise to go along with, and it’s directed by the man behind some of the most iconic family films ever made that we still love today.
What I loved most about ‘Ready Player One’ is how if offers something compelling to viewers of all ages. For a film that’s placed entirely in the desolate future, there is a deep sense of nostalgia in the blink-and-you’ll miss-them references to 70s and 80s popular culture. The intertextual references are well-placed, there are enough of them to appreciate, but not so many that they override the futuristic context at the centre of the film. The extended reference to Stanley Kubrick’s classic horror ‘The Shining’ manages to be tasteful and not rob it of its unrivalled brilliance while making it a crucial step forward in the race to win the game. So skilfully is this part of the film crafted that I watched it behind the palm of my hand. Just those few screechy notes of the original’s strings-based score is enough to terrify me. The teenaged audiences may not notice all of the nods to films, television shows, games and so on before their time, but they will be completely sold by the thrill ride, fast cars and incredibly cool gadgets.
The refreshing pleasure of the film is that it’s an almost self-contained piece of cinematic entertainment. Yes, it’s based on a novel, but it doesn’t feel as though Spielberg has jumped on the YA dystopian bandwagon many did after the barnstorming success of The Hunger Games franchise. However, there are parts where its opportunity to address contemporary issues is left unfulfilled. In today’s climate of anxieties around data protection and privacy on social networks, ‘Ready Player One’ doesn’t touch on corporate responsibility to wider society in the way it could have, which renders it empty of any social commentary. There is great diversity in the casting and the performances by the young cast are very good, even if the characters feel a little underdeveloped by the end. The film is so buoyantly enjoyable it’s almost impossible not to lose yourself in what you’re seeing. Aside from some missed opportunities, Spielberg’s latest hit is both an incredibly entertaining blockbuster and a whirlwind nostalgia trip.
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