"Ready Player One is One of Spielberg's Best Movie's of the Decade! A Great Tribute to the 80s!

Rating: 8/10 (21 April 2018)

Steven Spielberg has directed and produced so many movies that now it is getting hard to name all of them. He is also probably one of the best directors of all times! And his latest movie, Ready Player One, well not as good as his earlier movies (obviously), is still a very good movie from an amazing director. Please also note that this movie is not amazing or great, but it is good. Definitely one of his best movies of the decade. The story is simple but exciting: Reality bleak so people turn to virtual reality video game to get away from it, scavenger hunt, evil corporation wants to take control of the virtual reality video game, blah blah blah. The story is well, simple; like Spielberg's other movies. The special effects are downright amazing. Almost everything in The O.A.S.I.S. is CGI, though it is not exactly cheesy, The O.A.S.I.S.'s futuristic look just adds to the movie's sense of wonder. You will probably find yourself caring just as much for the main character's digital avatars as you will for their real-world images. The action sequences are also pretty good, like the final battle between the regular O.A.S.I.S. users and IOI Industries. They are also packed with pop-culture references and memorable quotes (such as "It's f***ing Chucky!"). But they are also CGI overloaded, over-the-top, and usually hard to follow. The acting is okay I would say. The film uses a lot of young stars and I think Tye Sheridan and Olivia Cooke did good jobs acting in the roles of Wade/Parzival and Samantha/Art3mis. But the thing is, I can't really critique the acting in Ready Player One because it is not good or bad; it is just there. The movie makes use of it's sense of wonder to lure people in, not it's acting (though Mark Rylance does a good job acting in the flashback scenes). Another good thing about Ready Player One is all it's pop culture references. The film references pretty much every popular entertainment icon from the 70, 80s, and 90s though it still makes room for pop culture references from 00s and 10's so young adults will still be able to get some of the references (though their are sadly no Fortnite references). But the bad thing is, almost none of Spielberg's movies are referenced, which is sort of annoying because he pretty much defined those decades with his movies. I know he was trying to not make the movie about himself, but it is still pretty annoying. The movie itself also conveys a sense of wonder and nostalgia and fun that only Spielberg could bring to a movie, so it even feels like it really is an 80s movie. It also has some pretty good messages about reality and the real world that makes it as affecting as it is fun. Ready Player One is definitely not Steven Spielberg's best movie, though it is probably one of his best movies of the current decade. A great ode to the 80s without a doubt!