In the future the concept of virtual reality has been taken to its limits where people can create an avatar that will allow them to be whoever they want to online. People from all over the world live and play in this online world where anything is possible from taking the ultimate vacation to playing online games with your friends. However, all is not what it seems in this computer generated realm as there are dark forces ready to take it over. Will the players rise up against the corporation bent on dominating the last free frontier? Or will it be lost forever. This is the premise behind the latest Amblin release entitled Ready Player One but is this a virtual world that you would love to visit or would you rather just play outside?
Please note two things in this review. One, I am going to try to keep this review spoiler free so I am not going to go into detail about the stories and backstories involved with the characters. Two, I have not read the book so this review is completely based on the movie that I saw. With those two points taken let us continue.
The movie starts off with the main character who plays online as Parzival telling us about The OASIS which is the virtual world where the movie mostly takes place. He tells about how the creator of The OASIS, James Halliday made a special contest where people would go out into the world and try to solve clues to attain three keys. These keys would be used to unlock a door at the end of the stage and the prize is quite substantial. The prize is not only a vast fortune that would have the person that found it set for life but, would also give them complete control of The OASIS. So there are people that prowl the corners of the internet that are called Gunters (short for easter egg hunters) however, no one in years has found even the first key. Parzival has been searching long and hard for answers while trying to win the first challenge which is a race through the streets of Manhattan that no one seems to be able to beat.
There is also another protagonist in the story as well and that is Innovative Online Industries or IOI for short. These people want to control The OASIS in order to make their corporation even more successful and wealthier than anyone can imagine. The people that work for IOI are called Sixers and the reason for this is their avatars are all given numbers instead of names.
Directed by Steven Spielberg, the movie is exceptionally well crafted as any time spent in The OASIS is completely computer animated and done VERY well to boot. The visual effects have surpassed some of the other giant blockbusters who rely on CGI to fuel their movies forward. There are also a LOT of pop culture references in this movie that you might not catch the first or even the second time around. There are characters from books, movies, comics, television, anime and gaming that inhabit this virtual world. You might not be able to pick them up on the first time that you see this film however, it is a great film to experience over and over again. In fact there are rumors going around about how Ready Player One might qualify for an Oscar!
In conclusion I want to say this movie is simply amazing and if you are a fan of either the book, gaming or pop culture you need to check out this film. I saw it at my local Regal Cinema (the newest one in Delta Shores where they have reclining chairs and tons of food and drink items to choose from). For more information about this movie head over to www.readyplayeronemovie.com and get ready to dive into the oasis.
