Ready Player One SPOILER-FREE Review
Run Time: 2 hours, 20 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Taylor Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn
Ready Player One takes place in a world where everyone is so absorbed in technology that they pay no attention to the real world. In other words, it takes place in 2018. Steven Spielberg brings the novel of the same title by Ernest Cline to the big screen, and, from the looks of the trailers, I didn't know exactly how this could be adapted effectively. I never read the book, but the trailers looked so wild and zany that it seemed almost impossible for anyone to pull it off. The only thing that made me think Ready Player One could work was that it was being directed by Spielberg, arguably the greatest director working today. But still, I was apprehensive. I have since learned never to doubt the holy master Steven Spielberg. He turns in a magnificent film, one that balances the style perfectly with the substance. Sure, it's big and flashy with tons of CGI, but it also has a lot to say about where we are heading as a species and how we are losing our ability to connect with each other. It's a profound film that puts to rest any doubts anyone may have had that Spielberg no longer has it; he most certainly does!

Yes, this movie is big and flashy, but it also has an incredible amount of substance to it. It has a lot to say about how we use technology, and how being "plugged in" can effect our interactions with other human beings. There are very telling shots of people walking around the streets, wearing the headgear that puts you in the OASIS. Everyone is locked into this virtual world and they never acknowledge the actual real people around them. Real life is the only thing that's real, as a character says at one point in the film. And you get a sense of how dependent people are on the OASIS. Early on in the movie, Wade's (Taylor Sheridan) step-uncle spends all the mortgage money on power-ups, and this is not an uncommon occurrence. So while it is a big fun movie that is filled to the brim with pop culture references and giant spectacle action sequences, it also has a lot to say about our individual dependence on technology, and how it isolates us from other people rather than connects us. Art3mis (Olivia Cooke) tells Wade that he has lived most of his life within the OASIS, instead of in the real world, and that divide is something we as a society are currently on the cusp of.

4.5/5
What do you think? Have you seen Ready Player One? If not, are you planning on seeing it? Leave your (spoiler-free) thoughts in the comments section below.
Written by: Nathanael Molnár
Written by: Nathanael Molnár
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