Review of Ready Player One (2018) by Calburt S — 21 Jul 2018

"Where We're Going, We Don't Need Roads!".

Every man dies, not every man really lives. Steven Spielberg has done it again ladies and gentlemen, another classic movie to entertain a lifetime of viewers. At age 71 Spielberg has created the movie "Ready Player One", a must-see movie for anyone. It is filled with countless pop culture references from classic movies, music artists, and video games that anyone can relate to. Anyone who has enjoyed a Steven Spielberg classic previously, can find something to love to and enjoy in this film as well.

"Ready Player One" is set in the bleak and dismal future of 2045 where people would rather live on a virtual reality interface called the OASIS than face the dreary reality they currently live in. In the Oasis, someone can be whoever or whatever they want to be, making it the perfect place to live out your pop culture fantasy. The creator of the Oasis, James Halliday (Mark Rylance) who had recently died, left everyone with a task to find three Easter eggs or clues in order to win his hidden game. The first player who get all three Easter eggs wins the prize: half a trillion dollars and ownership of the largest business in the world, the OASIS. This prize creates tension between groups of gamers called "egg hunters" or "gunters", and a company named IOI to fight their way to be the first to achieve all three eggs. Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan), a main character who plays in the Oasis as an avatar named Parzival gets a few of his gunter friends to team up (or clan) in order to win all three eggs, preventing the evil IOI from controlling and ruining the fun/purpose of the gaming platform.

[spoilers] Steven Spielberg at age 71 may be using this movie as a way to clearly show how he left his mark in cinematic history. Spielberg uses many of the characters from his past movies here in the opening challenge. For example, we see the DeLorean from Back to the Future, the T-rex from Jurassic Park and King Kong, all in the very literal race for the first Easter egg. In this opening challenge the viewer feels a sense of fantasy and nostalgia just from being in a race where you have to avoid an iconic T-Rex and an unmistakable gorilla named King Kong. Spielberg also perfectly blends the feeling of fantasy with the feeling of adventure from his other films like back to the future and Indiana Jones. Although the race is filled with chaos and destruction, there is never a moment where you feel lost. In all the CGI you never lost or blurry, you feel confident, clear and calm with Parzival behind the wheel of the DeLorean. With all of these factors Spielberg is leaving us with some of his creations and the progression of moving forward to finish the race.

Spielberg uses the ending scene in this film to send us a personal message from himself. Although Halliday is the vehicle of the message given, it is really a message given to us by Steven Spielberg. In many films of his career Spielberg has tried to find a balance between real life and fantasy. He has created movies like Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List, and the Post, all movies portraying real events. Spielberg has also made movies on the opposite spectrum like E.T., Jurassic Park, and Hook giving just a few examples of his fantasy creations. He has battled the difference between reality and fiction his whole career, and here in the movie "Ready Player One", we are left with Spielberg's message in the closing scene with Halliday in his childhood room. Halliday is seen leaving the room with a wink, after telling Parzival that the real world is the only place you can get a decent meal. In this room Halliday also keeps a childhood version of himself, and as he leaves, both versions of Halliday depart. This leaves Parzival alone in the room with complete control and power of the Oasis. This gives the viewer a sense of responsibility and respect. Parzival now knows that although the fantasy of gaming may be truly amazing, there isn't anything quite like the real world. Halliday's relentless lifestyle of living in the past can now come to an end as he metaphorically passes the torch to his trusted champion, Parzival. This can directly translate to us, as Spielberg leaves the room with all of his past creations leaves us as Parzival, now with the responsibility of taking care of his creations but also crating something new of our own. As Spielberg might be on his last leg of making movies, he passes us the torch. Each of us now hold the responsibility of being the new owners of creation. Like Parzival we have an obligation to respect and celebrate the past but also move forward with creation and imagination.