Geeks assemble.

Rating: 8/10 (13 April 2018)

In the years since its release, Steven Spielberg has famously gone on record for, on several occasions, saying that Jaws (1975) was the most difficult film of his career, closely followed by his WWII epic Saving Private Ryan (1998). Just recently, in an interview on the Kermode and Mayo podcast, he revealed that Ready Player One, based on the novel of the same name by Ernest Cline, ranked third on his list of films he found particularly difficult to craft. As the trailers dropped for the film, eager eyed geeks everywhere were drawn in by the pop culture references sprinkled throughout, from the Iron Giant to Freddy Kruger, to the time travelling DeLorean racing through the streets to King Kong clinging to the top of a skyscraper. Of course, this was just the tip of the ice berg, as Ready Player One is a treasure trove of pop culture. Specifically, 80's pop culture. In 2045, the world has become a desolate, depressing place to live, with the virtual reality world of the OASIS becoming the ultimate escapism. Whilst inhabiting the OASIS, people can be anything they want to be, and go anywhere they want to go, taking on the form of their own unique avatar. When James Halliday (Mark Rylance), creator of the OASIS, dies, he leaves behind an Easter Egg in his creation. Whoever finds this Easter Egg becomes the rightful owner of the OASIS, thus sparking a quest among thousands to locate it.
Spielberg has confessed to geeking out multiple times during production of the film, and its clear to see why. Ready Player One is thriving with geek references, from easily recognisable mainstream characters like Batman, to more obscure references like Buckaroo Banzai. Geeks will have a blast trying to spot them all, but the film packs so much into it that its practically impossible to find every single one on first viewing. Though a good 80% of the film is set in these massive, epic CGI landscapes, it doesn't at all detract from central storyline of escapism and friendship. Wade Watts (Sheridan) and Samantha Cook (Cooke) first meet in the OASIS as their respective avatars, Parzival and Art3mis, but soon develop a real-life romance that keeps the films heart beating. The two share great chemistry and are exceptional as the films leads. Ben Mendleson as the films big bad corporate businessman Nolan Sorrento is a menacing antagonist, and channels elements from his performance as Orson Krennic from 2016's Star Wars spin off Rogue One. Visually, the film is a true spectacle. Spielberg crafts such spellbinding action sequences that demand to be witnessed on the big screen, and, in this rare instance, 3D actually works miles better. As mentioned before, so much is packed on screen that at times its near impossible to keep up. Some may feel that the films CGI overload is too much, but with a source novel bursting to the brim with such action and 80's nostalgia at every turn, it seems as though CGI was the only possible route to bring the story to life.
Ready Player One is the ultimate geek movie. Bursting with action, heart, and stunning visuals, it is a film that is totally unapologetic of its endless nostalgia fest. Following the films success, I read that Cline has announced he is working on a second book in the series. Consider me ready.