VIDEO: See Tim’s review of “Ready Player One” with Ellery McCardle on KARE 11.
“Ready Player One” (PG-13)
You’ll need a speedy internal processor to completely absorb “Ready Player One,” director Steven Spielberg’s overly-ambitious yet entertaining foray into the world of virtual reality video game playing. A high stakes game of life and death set in a dystopian future where virtual vistas and avatars offer people their only true chance to escape the depressing doldrums of everyday life, the film no doubt boasts a unique concept and impressive visuals throughout. Yet while it embodies Spielberg’s youthful spirit, it largely will only appeal to the film’s key demographic and leave others struggling to keep up in the virtual world that envelops them.
“Ready Player One” is set in the not-so-distant future, in 2045, where just enough time has passed where the world’s population literally has humanity stacked on top of each other in mobile home parks, and technology has advanced to the point where virtual reality gaming is the only recreation of choice. It’s the only way 18-year gamer Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) can escape the harsh surroundings of Columbus, Ohio, which for reasons unexplained, is the fastest growing city in the country. Everybody from the haves to the have-nots like Wade all venture daily into the OASIS, a haven for 70s and 80s pop nostalgia, which was invented by a Steve Jobs-like eccentric named James Halliday (Spielberg’s new go-to actor Mark Rylance).
But when word breaks that Halliday has passed on and has created a three-part challenge as a way to bequeath his half-trillion-dollar fortune and control to the OASIS to the winner, everybody from Wade to IOI — the second-most powerful corporation in the world after Halliday’s — embark on the treasure hunt. Employing an army of players to hunt down the Easter Egg that Halliday has hidden, IOI’s ruthless leader, Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn), instantly shows his muscle, and proves that he has no problem going to extreme lengths to secure the prize and control of the OASIS.
Not surprisingly, “Ready Player One” is loaded with eye-popping visuals, giving Spielberg a chance to unleash his inner-kid once again, which he probably welcomes following the heavy narrative of his awards season true-life drama “The Post.” Populated with too many pop culture references to keep count (many of them Warner Bros. and Spielberg properties since it’s a Warner Bros. and Spielberg film), the film is wonderful trip down memory lane for children of the ’70s and ’80s and early ’90s, and perhaps enough to keep them interested in a film that, despite a fairly straightforward plotline (seek prize, find prize, rule the virtual world), has a lot of data to process. Seasoned gamers will no doubt get all the jargon that helps propel “Ready Player One,” but for everyone else, keeping pace with what’s going on can be a chore.
AUDIO: Hear Tim’s review of “Ready Player One” with Tom Barnard on “The KQ 92 Morning Show.”
The other issue is that because Spielberg’s involved, he has the clout to make it a 2-hour, 20-minute adventure when it really doesn’t need to be that long. With two-thirds of the film set in the virtual world, “Ready Player One” already suffers from sensory overload, but thankfully grounded players like Sheridan, Olivia Cooke as Wade’s virtual and real-world teammate, Rylance, Mendelsohn and Simon Pegg (in a pivotal supporting role) give the film just enough heart to keep things interesting on a human level.
Lammometer: 7 (out of 10)
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.
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