Ready Player One From the Perspective of a VR Geek

Rating: 9/10 (2 May 2018)

If you want to see this movie because you like virtual reality see it now, you don't even need to go in with any details, you will enjoy it. The same goes if you either are a hardcore 80s kid, or just anyone who loves 80s music, movies, video games, etc. If you don't have interest in any of those areas, you may want to hear someone out before going.

I for one have both always been into 80s music and film (I happen to be 18 by the way), and I call myself a VR enthusiast, so this movie really was a thrill for me. Yeah, it is no Citizen Kane, and Spielberg has done better, but I really loved this movie. From the rise of the Oculus Rift a couple years ago I was so into the idea of virtual reality. I even remember when I was a young chap, I had some totally cheapo Power Rangers "virtual reality" where you strapped sensors onto your arms and legs with velcro, and wore this incredibly bulky plastic visor, and you punched and kicked when flashing images of villains appeared in your sight (if you really are curious what I'm talking about, just search for Power Rangers Virtual Reality and you'll find it pretty quickly). But literally, just around the same time I thought that piece of trash was revolutionary, Oculus started up on Kickstarter in 2012, finally going to the consumer market in 2016. I both always saw a future in virtual reality, and really wanted it because it is so damn cool. Unfortunately due to its high price tag, it will be some time until everyone has one of these in their household. The hardest part actually is acquiring a computer which can handle it. For me, I modded my computer to be compatible (in fact it was actually just below Oculus required specs).
One of the things I get whenever I tell someone I am invested in VR is, "Virtual reality is dying." I happen to disagree. VR is still in the works, and I'm just wanted to get on that VR train early on. I believe the Oculus Go will actually be a good boost for VR given its semi affordable price (which will probably go down) and its portability.
So to finally talk about VR in the movie, which I haven't even touched upon yet, it seems really far in the future. Yes it is in the future, but not even as far as you may think. Upon my first time watching RPO (I saw it twice), I thought "Damn, that movie was awesome, but VR like that is really far away." Well guess what? It actually isn't (for the most part). The hardest part to achieve is getting that full field of view that is projected into your eyes via lasers. That really was the one part that seemed a bit far from us at the moment. Although VR manufacturers are indeed very focused on widening field of view, and upping resolution. The technological elements of the film that really are reasonable to see in the future, are the use of haptics, and the omnidirectional treadmill. The treadmill seems to be them furthest advanced of the technologies we see in the film, being there already are a couple startups that already have produced treadmills that almost exactly match what we see in RPO. Of course the technology isn't perfect, but it is very close to what we see in the movie. Haptics by means of vibrations we already have access to, but what we see in the movie is a bit more advanced, allowing to recreate realistic feelings of touch and resistance. This is still in the early stages, but is out there. Haptx is a VR startup which has created haptic gloves filled with hundreds of sensors and mechanical parts allowing one to feel just about anything one can imagine feeling on their hand, from a tiny fox walking on it, to individual raindrops, to picking small objects up.
Now that I've said quite a bit about the technology in RPO, I'll get more to the content. The movie is so jam packed with detail you'll need to view it frame by frame to catch it all. From avatars from games like Overwatch, to sectors of the Oasis called Minecraft World, the movie really gets everything in there. I also really enjoyed the music choices in the film, being 80s hits. A favorite scene from the movie (which I will not spoil) of mine literally recreates shots and locations from one of my favorite films of all time, an 80s classic (better see it if you want to know what that is).
The one thing I will say, is this film kind of is a love it or hate it scenario. My brothers and I loved the movie, and spent hours discussing it, and how VR can change the future, while someone else I saw it with hated it, and said, "Oh it's literally just copying Willy Wonka." To this anonymous person's defense, it does take a lot from Willy Wonka (humble poor kid invests himself into competition where reward is unlimited riches, and his humility allows him to beat those who try to win using money and ignorance), but that doesn't make it a bad film. This still is completely its own concept, focused around the very much new, modern idea of VR.
So if you are a VR geek, see it. If you are an 80s nerd, see it. If you aren't, I still definitely recommend you at least give it a shot, but by no means is it a must see.