‘Ready Player One’ is packed with action and pop culture galore
by Drew Henderson // A&E Editor
Directed by Steven Spielberg, “Ready Player One” is an action-adventure film set in the world of the Oasis, a virtual playground where anyone can do anything, including relive some of their favorite pop culture icons. In this world, we meet our protagonists on the hunt for Haliday’s Egg, a competition that began when the creator of the Oasis died, and whoever wins takes control of the Oasis and Haliday’s fortune as well. However, they are pursued by the shady IOI Corporation, which also wants to win the competition to gain control of the Oasis and repurpose it as a pay-to-play service.
Even being adapted from the novel, the story is streamlined for the movie. It honestly is cleaner than the book, as the audience is thrown into the action in the first 15 minutes. It also makes the story less cumbersome, as the characters only have to go through three challenges, compared to the lengthy six that the book features. The scenes set in reality have also been fixed, which really only serves to slowly develop the characters and move them to their next position. There are really no deep themes or lessons to be learned from this movie. The story is just a fun throwback to classic adventure films that are wrapped in pop culture references. It’s a fun popcorn flick with some visually amazing action sequences that mix some unexpected franchises.
With the world of the Oasis being fully virtual, I was wondering how Spielberg would be able to bring it all to life. When I saw the first scene in the Oasis, I was amazed by how great the CGI looked, as the variety of characters used must have been difficult to recreate. Every location is different and interesting to look at. The protagonists’ avatars, especially Parzival and Artemis, remind me of the technical marvel that Avatar brought almost 10 years ago.
The characters of the film are entertaining too, but with the speed of the film, it feels that some of their development is forced, mostly with the characters of Wade Watts and Samantha Cook. Watts and Samantha first meet in the Oasis, not as each other but as their avatar’s, Parzival and Artemis. The first third of the movie spends time building up their relationship, but it feels too rushed. Out of all the protagonists, however, these are the only two that are truly built up, as the rest of their group serves as comic relief or come off as a bit cliché. When it comes to the antagonists of the film, Ben Mendlesohn puts on an entertaining performance as Nolan Sorrento, the CEO of IOI, while TJ Miller serves as his goofy right hand man in the Oasis.
Overall, the film definitely feels like it improves what story the book was trying to tell, as it streamlined the quest for Haliday’s egg and removed some of the parts of Wade and Samantha’s relationship that may have been strange. The characters also felt like they could have been a bit more developed, but the movie moves so fast that character development will be the least of your worries. If you are looking for a dumb popcorn movie that is nonstop fun, and a reference fest full of pop culture, then take a seat and plug in.