Film Review | You Got Game? - Ready Player One
To celebrate a momentous occasion in our family, we went out for a bonding day. Seldom we go out and watch a movie and we decided to watch Ready Player One.
The movie has been touted as a blockbuster what with name Steven Spielberg at the helm. He did a few films lately and this one came out him bringing nostalgia with it. We haven't read the book but others said the movie was a level up in marketing. The story line followed a simple plot, but Spielberg made a creative spin in the movie.
The story is a scary future of our present times. The movie is about the near future, when people escape real life by going into a virtual world, the OASIS. Its a world where anyone can be who they want to be, choose an avatar, create a personality for yourself and meet strangers online. Sounds familiar? Well, this movie is a mirror of the times then the multiply that, we have the foreseeable future.
The movie is about a teenager finding the OASIS as an escape only to find out that villains abound trying to take over the virtual world. A simple plot line it has, an innocent who don't want to be a hero turned one in the end, battling a rich huge corporation who wants get all the profits. You know where this is going.
Now what makes this movie a crowd drawer? What did Spielberg do? Well, the book was a reminder of 90s pop culture and Spielberg leveled up. He made a casting call success in this movie, he got Freddy Krugger, Hello Kitty, Gundam and the Iron Giant to make an appearance for starters. The lead Parzbal drove the delorean of Marty McFly, the love interest Artemis rode on bike by Akira, truly Spielberg knows how bridge the gap between generations.
Honestly, I watched the film for nostalgic reasons, I was more eager to see how many 90s memorabilia and easter eggs than keeping tabs with the story. Beforehand I knew the movie was 2 hours 26 minutes long, I wondered how the movie can keep me awake with a thin story line. And yes, I was awake lest I miss some character I love would do a cameo on screen.
This writer is not schooled in film direction but just an avid movie goer. I have watched a lot of movies and I adored every good film ever made. This movie however came short of a gem. The story line is common and if it wasn't for Spielberg, the movie could have tanked. Thank him for spinning for us a movie reminding us of our childhood, the music, references to old cult classic films, the cartoon characters, making us watch the film.
Rotten tomatoes gave it a 74% rating and the audience gave it a higher 80% and I can understand why. The movie is an entertaining one. With all the nostalgia thrown in, it is this fact that made the movie a winner. This might not win an Oscar but this is on its way to have a cult following.