Ready Player One

The fun of watching Ready Player One is actually in the careful detailing one gets to see on screen about the virtual world which possibly could consume our time in the near future. Set in a time almost 30 years from now, this Steven Spielberg movie not only creates that world with precision but also conveys an exhilarating story that never loses grip over its narrative.

The year is 2045, and the world is in bizarre shape and the only sort of escape for the people from this harsh reality is the virtual world called OASIS. The creator of this virtual world James Halliday announces a contest before he dies to find his successor along with the price money of half a trillion dollars and the mission was to find an Easter egg he has hidden inside the Oasis. The movie Ready Player One is ultimately about the efforts made by a lot of people from our hero Wade and his friends to big corporate tycoons who have employed people to get it done.

The elements in use here are somewhat familiar for those of you who have played games and somewhere some of the ideas looked similar to the The Matrix. But it is the pace at which things are narrated with spectacular visual quality that will make us sit in awe. Even the funny dialogues in the movie are rooted to the problems of that time. There was one seen where we got to see a “fake profile” reference which sounded completely sensible as we are already seeing that in our lives. The movie does not glorify the virtual reality concept too. In a way it shows how VR can possibly reduce the socializing skills in us.

Steven Spielberg succeeds in narrating it in brisk pace without losing the emotional essence of the story. He has constructed visuals that are mind blowing and doesn’t give a moment for you to complain about pace or authenticity. Like I said, some of the elements here are familiar and on a character development level the achievement is not that great. But who cares about all those stuff when the ride itself is exciting. The visuals are stunning and with 3D coming into play, the experience becomes close to gaming. The recreation of The Shining was one truly exciting experience. The background score also enhances the crisply sliced aggressive narration.

Tye Sheridan plays the role of Wade Watts and the guy was effective. I am guessing the virtual part of his avatar in OASIS was a motion capture performance. Olivia Cooke felt like a rebel and Ben Mendelsohn was good as the greedy IOI head. Mark Rylance was fab as the creator Halliday and seeing Simon Pegg as Ogden Morrow made me feel a bit old.

The book had Blade Runner as the movie reference and due to rights issues Spielberg and his writers Zack Penn and Ernest Cline replaced it with Kubrick’s The Shining. The way that scene works shows the creativity of the talent pool behind this movie. Even after having shortcomings in terms of character development and similarities, Ready Player One is one exciting fun experience.

Rating: 4/5