Please Press Play – Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One

Steven Spielberg’s last few films were very hit and miss. His dramas have been well received, especially Bridge of Spiesand The Post, but Lincoln was rather divisive. Blockbuster-wise, The BFG failed to reach the audience of earlier successes such as The Adventures of Tintin or even Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. This begged the question: is the Spielberg from our past just that? A thing of the past? The proliferation of 80s nostalgia in shows such as Stranger Things and even a film such as IT seems to suggest that we are yearning for another instant Spielberg classic. Well, hold onto your butts because he’s back with the nostalgia-fest that is Ready Player One.

The Story

Ready Player One is set in a post-apocalyptic future (like so many movies these days) where everybody escapes their dreary reality by entering the MMORPG-like OASIS. The OASIS is a virtual world where users can do whatever they want and be whoever they want.

Our hero is Wade Watts, or Parzival as he is known in the OASIS. He lives with his aunt and her abusive boyfriend in a futuristic trailer park called ‘The Stacks’. Like most people, he spends his days trying to crack Anorak’s Quest. This is a (virtual) worldwide search for OASIS-founder James Halliday’s Easter egg. This artefact, hidden somewhere in the expansive virtual universe, will give the lucky winner complete control of the OASIS and also the late Halliday’s riches. Along the way, Parzival must collect three keys by completing smaller quests and understanding what made Halliday tick. In this case, 80s pop culture.

If you were born in the 80s, the 80s

Ernest Cline’s 2011 source novel was widely revered and derided. The concept was great, but the writing was just terrible. Much can be said about this odd work, but most criticism boils down to some ugly dialogue, convenient plot twists and its insistence on telling and not showing. But there was something there. I read it quite quickly and enjoyed the ride. But it felt somewhat fanfic-y. I guess it can be compared to the infamous Harry Potter fanfic My Immortal in some way, with the protagonist being an extension of the author (or reader), inserting them into a story or setting they really like and making them the hero. In this case, the thing that is being fanficced is 80s pop culture.

People have called this novel a love letter to 80s pop culture. The end result is more of a mess of references to obscure Atari games and geeky 80s movies and shows. I must admit that I cringed at the amount of times characters referred to 80s pop culture as if it were a thing, like literature or math. I’m sorry, but no matter how many times you repeat it, this is not a thing. Stop trying to make fetch happen, Gretchen!

Great Scott! It works!

But overall, it works. Somehow, the movie managed to overcome the novel’s sickly sweet approach to a decade better best forgotten and managed to put a very engaging story on the screen. At its heart, Ready Player One is a quest. Not a Lord of the Rings or Star Wars-level heroic journey, but a decent video game level fetch quest. It will not change your life or leave you with an insight into our obsession with virtual worlds. But damned if it’s not a bloody fun way to spend two hours.

Graphics

The visuals are fantastic. I saw this in IMAX 3D and was not disappointed. The race at the beginning is a definite showstopper, and I was all too happy to see Jurassic Park’s T-Rex make an appearance. The OASIS as a whole is a beautiful creation, seamlessly moving between vastly different landscapes with the most natural ease. The dreary real world was maybe a bit of an afterthought, and its lack of anything engaging made me yearn to return to the OASIS. But then again, so do the characters, so… mission accomplished?

Characters

The characters themselves aren’t even too bad. Our trio of heroes works well together in both the virtual and the real world. They are far from groundbreaking, but decent. That’ll do. The real winners here are Ben Mendelsohn’s deliciously devious Nolan Sorrento and TJ Miller’s enigmatic villain/gun-for-hire I-R0k. I could have done without Hannah John-Kamen’s severely overdone F’Nale Zandor, though.

Overall Impression

Spielberg is definitely back on form with a delightful adventure that overcomes its central conceit and becomes more than it ever deserved to be. With enough references to keep the geeks happy for hours, and a tight enough plot that it never gets boring, this is what we’ve been missing. This is the Spielberg we fell in love with. This is our blast from the past. Let us hope he embraces this creative resurgence and brings us more of this wonderful adventure fare.