First Take: Ready Player One- insert coin to review film

SYNOPSIS: When the creator of a virtual reality world called
the OASIS dies, he releases a video in which he challenges all OASIS users to
find his Easter Egg, which will give the finder his fortune.

Steven Spielberg is the only director who can put two good
films out in a year. One of them was very topical, the other, well, even more
topical. Ready Player One deals with a lot of technological exploits that could
easily happen, and in the process, delivers 2 hours 20 minutes of pop-culture
filled nerdiness that many die hard gamers will adore. As for casual audiences, well, they’ll enjoy it too.

Spielberg once again delivers a masterclass in the art of
cinema, with production design so luscious I was almost drooling at what I was
seeing, and working to a script from Zak Penn and Ernest Cline (writer of the
book in which this is adapted from), almost every aspect of this film is
faultless, and while there are a few minor pacing problems, the film is able to
overcome these issues to deliver a hell of a big screen experience. Behind the camera is Spielberg veteran Janusz Kaminski, and
with music from Alan Silvestri alongside an insane soundtrack of 1980s and 1990s music, I simply cannot
get over this film.

Performance wise, Tye Sheridan and Oldham’s very own Olivia
Cooke absolutely kill it as the film’s lead characters, and supported by Mark
Rylance, Simon Pegg, T.J Miller, Ben Mendelsohn and many others, it just feels
right- especially as the film references classics like The Shining, Back to the
Future, the Iron Giant and many other properties that basically result in the
‘with thanks to’ section of the credits take up a good 3 minutes. The hype was
big, and boy did this one deliver- this one will have a good run.

THE VERDICT

Ready Player One will go down in legend as the ultimate nerd
movie- and that ain’t because every game and movie under the sun is referenced.
It has heart, soul, a good plot, and some outstanding CG and performances.
Spielberg has nailed it once again, and I am not afraid to say that this could
easily be this generation’s equivalent to Blade Runner.

RATING: 5/5