Folks that work in the entertainment industry tend to work in cycles. Be it filmmakers, authors, actors or what have you, they will crank out a certain volume of work and then fade into the background for an indeterminable period, driving up the demand for them to make some sort of triumphant return. As far as filmmakers go, Steven Spielberg has been amazingly consistent by cranking out a body of work that would stand up in any known era. Although the quality of his more recent body of work might be called into question as far as box-office performance is concerned, he has delivered us a library unparalleled in terms of scope and cultural impact that may never be surpassed. So, it seems fitting (since he has been such a pivotal part of the makeup of the entertainment industry during the late ‘70s and through the ‘80s) that when Ernest Cline’s quintessential pop culture love letter to all things geeky, “Ready Player One”, would be made into a fil, Mr. Spielberg would be the obvious choice to direct.
In 2045, Earth has become a dystopian wasteland covered by stacks of trailers and devoid of any true quality of life. The only true escape for the populations is through a virtual reality online world called The Oasis, created by eccentric game designer James Halliday (Mark Rylance) whom upon his death, reveals the existence of an “Easter egg” that would bequeath the contents of the vast virtual universe and his half trillion dollars to whomever uncovers the keys and finds the Egg. Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) a Gunter playing under the pseudonym of Parzival, is desperate to break out of his humdrum existence in the “stacks” and along with his online friends Aech (Lena Waithe), Daito (Win Morasaki), Sho (Philip Zhao), and the fiery Art3mis (Olivia Cooke) work to defeat the CEO of Innovative Online Industries Nolan Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn) for control of the The Oasis.
This film will have a polarizing effect on the audience that it’s catering to because fans of the book, and the uninitiated who are just along for the for the pop culture phenomenon ride may see it in completely different lights. I fall into the latter camp, so I loved pretty much everything about this film from the subtle cameos to the song choices and absolutely dazzling visuals. This is a tour de force of sight and sound that is the most “Spielbergian” film that Spielberg has made in the last twenty years. I had a blast with this film and I’m looking forward to multiple viewings of it, just to catch all the hidden gems and treasures lurking in the nooks and crannies. Thanks Mr. Spielberg, I got your love letter, and the feeling is mutual.