I got the message

Rating: 10/10 (28 June 2019)

After watching nihilistic TV series "Westworld," Steven Spielberg's geeky love letter "Ready Player One" came as welcome relief. Like "Westworld," "Ready Player One" deals with the pitfalls of technology and at times, the mercilessness of the powerful, however where "Westworld" falls into indulgent shoot 'em up "Ready Player One" actually has something to say about the disenfranchised coming together in a constructive, rather than violent way. The stories and the focus may be different, but in a similar landscape of advanced gameplay technology "Ready Player One" shines as the story I want to remember, because it shows the best and the worst of human nature.
"Ready Player One" impresses because it while it is a PG-13 family film it shows the consequences of violence in appropriate ways. Characters can hurt, their family can get hurt, and adults don't always think much of children or their mortal lives. While calling out treachery (especially of conglomerates), "Ready Player One" also showcases the worth of friendship and the penalty of sacrifice. Friends willing to risk what is most valuable to them make for deep connections in the film, and sometimes ten year olds are people whose character we can aspire to. Children's films like "Smallfoot" which also came out in 2018 don't connect because there is no risk so there is no reward, and also there is no connection to the characters. Unlike in "Smallfoot," what I enjoy about "Ready Player One" is its consistency and the way it goes there if it really is gonna go there. Stephen Spielberg doesn't shy away from showing an emotional brutality that can exist, but he also doesn't shy away from what can replace that given the chance.
Not having watched any trailers, I didn't know what to expect with "Ready Player One," but I enjoyed its mix of retro 80s soundtrack and advanced CGI. I haven't read the book. I didn't even know there was one. But I did enjoy the film on its own merits, and most of all for the kind of open-eyed (instead of blind) optimism it has. I really feel like this is an excellent film for reasons that goes beyond its production values. No, I didn't always enjoy the character designs or kind of the fact that both the lead actor and the creator of OASIS remind me of the way Stephen Spielberg looks like (although I don't really begrudge a harmless nod at self-portrait, if that's the case), but still I enjoyed the kind of values like integrity and teamwork and loyalty that went into the film, enough so I want to recommend it to everybody in today's jaded era.