A great topping on a mediocre dessert

Rating: 6/10 (31 March 2018)

RPO is a movie about a very possible future, where rich dominates poor, and VR dominates reality, but also about the power of belief and friendship and love, which is supposed to be more valuable than money and fame.
This is a simple premise that could've been given substance, if they focussed more on characters, their background, and their development. Instead, the movie focusses on effects and a lot of cameos. The effects are amazing, the action is pretty entertaining and the cameos from games, movies and superheroes are very recognizable and funny if you lived in the 80's and/or 90's.
But after the 1st half, the cameos are no longer surprising, they become gimmicks. The action gets repetitive, and the acting becomes flat. The message becomes too obvious, stretched out and in your face. The movie loses its momentum especially because the lead bad guys seem unmotivated and two dimensional. The movie could have been so much better, if only they invested more in the characters and their motivation. Great effects can not inflate that which is flat. And that is exactly what this movie becomes, after the 1st half.
That doesn't mean that the movie isn't entertaining, if only you care enough about the many cameos that might make this movie worth watching a 2nd time, and play beer games.