Under the lens takes a deep look at films by focusing in on one or two particular areas of the picture that helped to define it for better or for worse. Spoilers will be included in this review.
Ready Player One is a science fiction thriller from director Steven Spielberg and stars Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, and Ben Mendelsohn. It tells the story of when When the creator of a virtual reality called the OASIS dies, he makes a posthumous challenge to all OASIS users to find his Easter Egg, which will give the finder his fortune and control of his world.
Under The Lens: Generic villain and creative world
Generic villain: Ben Mendelsohn is a fantastic actor and he has played many great roles over the years, sadly he was saddled with a very generic baddie in the form of Sorrento. Mendelsohn gave it everything he had, but there was only so much he could work with, as the story was more preoccupied with the treasure hunt and its heroes then developing its central villain. This resulted in Sorrento at best being a half baked “Evil businessman” we have seen a million times before, and at worst just boring.
Creative world: Where Ready Player One excels is in its very colorful and creative world. The game avatar designs are inventive and its player worlds are very fun and cool to look at. The world of the simulation and how one gets into it was explained and the technology was also explained in such a way that the game did not feel that far-flung of an idea. This made the viewer more invested and the world of the picture more inviting.
Highlights
The final act features thousands of players gathered to fight the forces of evil and there are dozens of Easter eggs from film, TV, and video games.
The game avatars are very interesting and original
The set pieces were well designed and not boring at all.
Something to think about
Would you want to play in the game world that was created for this picture?
Conclusion
Overall Ready Player One is a lot of fun, abet a bit too long for its own good. Director Steven Spielberg returns to his 80’s style of wonder and awe style pictures he is famous for, and mostly successes in creating a crowd-pleaser thriller. The set pieces and world of the video game overtake the actors in many ways, and this is not a bad thing per se. Overall Ready Player One is a fun and exciting picture to watch when you are in the mood for some 80s throwback entertainment.
