A few years ago, my friend Richie recommended I check out Ernest Cline’s debut novel Ready Player One. He described it as a nerdy 80s-loving fanboy’s dream come true. “It’s like someone wrote a book FOR US.” He wasn’t wrong. Cline managed to tap into the 80s nostalgia craze that’s been sweeping the nation as of late (Oh hai, Stranger Things!) and craft a fun, throwaway novel filled to the brim with pop-culture references tailor-made to delight anyone that’s ever played a video game or seen a movie from the prolific decade that gave us the likes of hair metal and leg warmers. But its never-ending supply of movie, music and video game references is piles of icing on a cake that wafer-thin. Take those out and you’re left with little more than a familiar plot with a main character who solves every problem thrown his way without batting an eye. The book’s fine, but it’s not much more than that.
Steven Spielberg’s much-anticipated adaptation could be described the same way. It’s eye-candy bombardment with little-to-no substance. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it far more than I expected. While it doesn’t shy away from filling the frame with countless visual references and familiar characters designed to make you scream and shout, “OH! THAT’S THAT THING I LIKE!” seeing them on-screen versus having them described to you in obnoxious detail makes the experience feel less pandering. The weaknesses inherent to the source material - the simplicity of its story, the predictable emotional beats and the lack of legitimate stakes - hold the film back from being anything more than a decent time at the movies, but at least it's not a slog to get through.
The story takes place in a not-too-distant future where the world has gotten so crummy, the majority of its citizens have taken to spending most of their time in a gargantuan virtual world known as the OASIS. Created by James Halliday, the OASIS is like a cross between the mind-bending acrobatics of The Matrix and the colorful visuals of Tron if both those worlds were centered around fun and games and an ‘anything goes’ mentality. Halliday’s recent death triggered an epic contest where the winner stands to gain full control over the OASIS in addition to a number of other prizes. In order to find this Easter Egg, however, one must first discover three keys Halliday has hidden in his robust virtual world.
Wade Watts is our hero - a 'pure at heart' Halliday aficionado and lover of all things 80s. While he wants to find the keys as much as anyone else, he loves the OASIS more for the adventure and the friends he’s made rather than a desire to win absolute control over everything. When he stumbles on a sinister corporation’s plot to win Halliday’s contest in order to rework and commercialize the OASIS for financial gain, Wade and his friends will stop at nothing to prevent this from happening.
As Wade, Tye Sheridan is tasked with playing the blandest of bland lead characters. He does an admirable job, instilling Wade with an endearing, nerdy quality that makes him instantly likable. In Cline’s novel, Wade’s constant reference-dropping made him feel like an obnoxious know-it-all. His ability to solve any problem thrown his way killed any potential suspense the story had to offer. Sheridan’s wide-eyed portrayal makes Wade come across as goofy and adorable more than an annoying genius. As depicted on screen, Wade is just a nerdy kid who stumbles on the right answers at the right time with a little help from his friends.
One of these friends (and the obligatory love interest) is Artemis, one of the OASIS’ legendary top players. In Spielberg’s adaptation, Artemis is given a more active role in the story, another wise storytelling decision. Olivia Cooke in the role is one of the film’s highlights. She makes a far more interesting protagonist than Wade. Ben Mendelsohn is appropriately menacing as the film’s primary villain Nolan Sorrento, the head of the evil corporation bent on winning Halliday’s contest and ruling the OASIS. His scenes with T.J. Miller’s i-R0k offer some of the film’s biggest laugh-out-loud moments. Even thought the cast spends most of their time as cartoonish digital avatars, they still do a bang-up job.
Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of Spielberg’s adaptation is its lack of edge, its seeming disinterest in ascending above the rest of the pack to achieve something more memorable. Why attach a filmmaker like Spielberg if you weren’t going to shoot for the stars? His crowd-pleasing, fast-paced sensibilities are on full display, but frankly it feels like this could have been directed by anyone. That special quality Spielberg brings to his best works gets little chance to shine, replaced by one familiar CGI set piece after another.
Ready Player One’s candy-coated sensibilities also prevent the film from developing real-world stakes. When things go wrong in the real world and people die, the consequences are hardly felt by any of the characters. Little excitement is generated beyond the ‘gee-whiz’ thrill of the colorful action and visuals, but there’s hardly any risk It’s not all that dissimilar from the sequences in the OASIS.
Speaking of which, I have to give credit where credit is due. The OASIS is a visual effects masterwork. The film’s exciting visual moments take place in this digital playing field. I was concerned the switch to the virtual world and reliance on CGI characters would create a disconnect, but it ended up reinforcing the universe all the more and never once took me out of the experience. There are some wonderful visual references and one extended sequence involving a re-creation of iconic scenes from Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is a particular standout.
It all leads up to your standard, computer-generated BIG BATTLE SEQUENCE that will boggle your senses and leave you completely unmoved, a standard for many blockbusters in this day and age. It concludes with a sappy, hamfisted ‘put down your phones and go outside’ message that seems fitting for the times, but insincere based on what’s come before. (After all, none of these people would have met without the OASIS in the first place.)
Ready Player One won’t ever be mistaken for one of Spielberg’s finest moments, nor do I expect it to be remembered much in the coming years, but it is undoubtedly an enjoyable ride. I’d say I was disappointed it wasn’t anything more than the sum of its parts except I didn’t expect it to be. While it’s undoubtedly an improvement on its source material, it reinforces how little of substance there is to it. If you’re already a fan of the novel, you’ll have a good time; if you just want a fun, fast-paced blockbuster, you should walk away happy. If you want an engaging, involving experience that will blow your mind, you might be off staying home and playing video games instead.
