"Ready Player One", Truly a Nerds Oasis

Written by: James Barnes

Review Contains SPOILERS.... 

Ready Player One is one of the most visually stunning films I've ever seen. Steven Spielberg proves once again, that he is one of the greatest filmmakers in the industry. Ready Player One is truly a nerds Oasis, filled with tons of easter eggs, pop culture references, and characters from your favorite games, movies, comics, anime, and more.

The film is set in the year 2045 and follows Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) on his journey to find the Easter Egg that was left by the game’s creator James Halliday (Mark Rylance). The easter egg will give the winner his entire fortune, and full control of the Oasis. 

With the real world on the brink of chaos and collapse, The Oasis has become the world’s salvation, the perfect escape from the harsh realities of the real world. 

Spielberg did an incredible job immersing you in the Oasis and giving you smart and engaging characters that you’ll root for throughout the entire film. 

As a huge anime fan, gamer, and movie buff, the Oasis would definitely be the perfect escape for me. Throughout the entire film, Wade and his friends go on the ultimate treasure hunt to track down the 3 keys that will open the door to the easter egg and control of the Oasis.

Nolan Sorrento played by Ben Mendelsohn is the head of the IOI corporation, and is hell bent on controlling the Oasis for his own financial gain and control of the future. 

Now let's get into some of my favorite moments and easter eggs.

The Race For The First Key.

The race sequence from the trailers is even more insane in the film itself. Wade A.K.A Parzival drives the Delorean from Back to the Future, the race also features the car from Speed Racer, The 1966 Batmobile, and Samantha A.K.A Art3mis drives the bike from Akira. The race is filled with literal twist and turns and all racers have to get past the king of the track....Kong.

Parzival and His Clan Visit The Overlook Hotel

In order to get the 2nd key, Parzival and his clan travel into the world of Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" where they had to interact with the twins, the elevator filled with blood, the evil room 237, and the dreaded maze.

RX-78-2 Gundam and The Iron Giant Vs. Mecha-Godzilla in front of Darth Vader's Castle

The location of the final key and the setting for the final battle takes place on Planet Doom in front of Darth Vader's castle. This was the most mind blowing scene in the entire film for me. As an anime fan I was losing my mind when the RX-78-2 Gundam (Mobile Suit Gundam) showed up and fought alongside The Iron Giant to fight Mecha-Godzilla being controlled by Sorrento. 

This sequence combined multiple elements of my childhood, I grew up watching Mobile Suit Gundam, The Iron Giant is an incredible animated film and I have been waiting for a sequel since the first one came out, and I'm a huge Star Wars fan, so to watch this sequence take place was a dream come true.

Ready Player one isn't a perfect film, every moment inside of the Oasis is so captivating that when you're in the real world, the film can sometimes feel like it's slowing down and some characters are just generic and uninteresting and the last times 10 minutes of the film feel like a different movie, but those are minor nit picks. Overall Spielberg gave us a beautiful immersive world with compelling heroes that speak to the nerd in all of us!

Ready Player One 8.5/10