From filmmaker Steven Spielberg comes the science fiction action adventure “Ready Player One,” based on Ernest Cline’s bestseller of the same name, which has become a worldwide phenomenon.

The film is set in 2045, with the world on the brink of chaos and collapse. But the people have found salvation in the OASIS, an expansive virtual reality universe created by the brilliant and eccentric James Halliday (Mark Rylance). When Halliday dies, he leaves his immense fortune to the first person to find a digital Easter egg he has hidden somewhere in the OASIS, sparking a contest that grips the entire world. When an unlikely young hero named Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) decides to join the contest, he is hurled into a breakneck, reality-bending treasure hunt through a fantastical universe of mystery, discovery and danger.

Review

Jade (Guest Hooligan) – And so, Spielberg’s new movie is out… Some (namely; the Chairman) has called this movie Spielberg’s comeback. I could agree: his comeback to the 90’s.

Ready Player One follows the main character (let’s call him, white male) in a world where everyone is obsessed with the video game THE OASIS – a virtual reality game played throughout the world (read one American City). There is a competition to win all the shares in the biggest gaming company, where the game maker (smart white guy with Utopian ideals) left behind Easter eggs for gamers to find and challenges to complete in order to win this grand prize. White Male completes the challenge while meeting his ‘clan’ (stereotypical non-white characters that are expendable), creating an uprising in the game and meeting his love interest (white girl who thinks she is ugly because of small birthmark that changes nothing), defeating evil corporation (rich white male). Blah Blah Blah

Will there be a time when we can watch a movie that does not conform to racial and gender stereotypes because it’s easier – or because white men refuse to expand their frame of reference? Can this movie be a bigger reference to Back to the Future?

Make no mistake, this movie will make money, people will watch it, take their kids, and love it. It has all the references to gaming and pop culture that will keep the adults smiling and pretending they can share these things with their kids, and enough great visual action to keep kids engaged.

But that is it. The story is so formulaic that there is no point. It is like every other movie in this genre for this audience. I can only hope that the book this movie is based on has rounded characters and less plot holes. If only Steven Spielberg had moved with the times- if you are making a pop culture movie at least make the characters real, the script good and stop feeding your audience information like they are stupid. 5.5/10