Ready Player One, 2018. My Journey into Science Fiction Part 21.

Hello, and welcome to My Journey into Science Fiction Part 21. Ready Player One was co-produced and directed by Steven Speilberg. Ernest Cline also wrote the screenplay with Zak Penn. I’m not sure I have come across anyone who has any dislike for Steven Spielberg. I heard some grumbles of unhappiness when it came to A.I. Artificial Intelligence, but I remember loving that film. I guess some people thought it was not good enough for a man who is responsible for some of the most beloved and highly successful films of the last five decades. I still remember crying after watching E.T. at the cinema, endlessly listening to the soundtrack for Close Encounters of a Third Kind, and admiring the beauty of the Jaws movie poster . These are just a few cherished moments that will stay with me forever. In the grand scheme of things, they are only a drop in the ocean when it comes down to the enjoyment his films have given me.

When I found out Steven Spielberg was about to start filming Ready Player One, I had to read Ernest Cline’s debut novel in anticipation. I enjoyed the story, but I was curious about how this novel could be adapted to the big screen. Ready Player One is a future dystopian science fiction novel, and to my surprise, it received mixed reviews from the critics. Regardless of the critics, the book became a New York Times bestseller, received numerous award nominations and sold over a million copies worldwide. The film is set in Columbus Ohio, and tells the story of Wade Watts Tye Sheridan also known as Parzival. Wade is an orphan who lives with his auntie and current boyfriend in the stacks. A metropolis of caravans, that are stacked together on a Planet that is quickly running out of its most vital resources. It sounds pretty dismal, but Wade and the residents of this crumbling society have access to multiple worlds and endless possibilities. A virtual reality simulation called the OASIS provides the freedom and pleasures that any human could ever need.

James Halliday Mark Rylance, the creator of the OASIS has recently passed his expiry date, and as the news of his death reaches the World. His avatar Anorak, announces a game that will take place inside his virtual kingdom. That game involves finding three keys, and finally, an Easter Egg that will give the winner Halliday’s estate and full control over the OASIS. Parzival is the first person to win one of those keys. It isn’t long before his friends, Aech, Art3mis, Daito and Sho accompany him and become the High-5. Trouble follows the High-5 as Nolan Sorrento, the CEO of Innovative Online Industries (IOI) wants to win the contest. IOI want to monetize the OASIS, and he will use any means necessary to achieve this goal. I mentioned earlier that I wondered how this story could be adapted into a film. My main reason is only because of all the pop culture references, ideas and plot elements that seem to be taken from some of the most beloved and copyrighted films in the World. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Tron are just a small slice of what this story has to offer us. I used to enjoy a good Easter egg in a film from time to time, but over the last ten years or so, it’s lost its value, and its identity. Ready Player One still, however, managed to entertain me, and I would like to discuss a couple of reasons why.

James Halliday and Ogden Morrow Simon Pegg both created Gregarious games, but it seems Halliday was the real genius when it came down to inventing the OASIS (Ontologically Anthropocentric Sensory Immersive Simulation). Inside the OASIS, visitors can visit Halliday’s journals and look back on the life of its creator. Halliday might be a genius, but his interactions with other humans are far from simple, and it’s not long before his friendship with Ogden Morrow begins to crumble. Halliday once dated Morrow’s wife Karen “Kira” Underwood and this eventually results in Halliday forcing the couple out of Gregarious games, and his life. Halliday never really dealt with his problems when he was alive, but he will do everything in his power to ensure that the new owner of his estate will not make the same mistakes he did. As someone who can get lost in a documentary about the birth of Silicon Valley, and the stories of Atari, Apple and many other companies from that era, this storyline was perfect for me.

IOI Headquarters and Nolan Sorrento Ben Mendelsohn was another highlight during the film for me, and his army of Sixers, both inside the OASIS and out was a visual delight. It’s sad, but believable that on a Planet facing a catastrophe, cash is still king. The Sixers are just everyday people, who are manipulated by a company to achieve their goal. Their avatars in the OASIS are just as generic as their surroundings in real life. Maybe it is the evil inside me, but I find it pretty dark and interesting. I want to keep my final thoughts on the film as simple as possible. The OASIS has everything going on, and as a gamer, I can see its appeal. I like to call myself a gamer, but as someone who usually camps out on COD in the plain sight of everyone, I am sadly not a good gamer. I still like to play games from time to time, but I would rather read a book instead. However, when I heard the opening theme music to The Shining by Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind, it gave me goosebumps and it was so good to visit The Overlook Hotel, once again.

The visual appeal of the OASIS was a bit of a letdown at first. After I read Ready Player Two, I was given more context to think about. I can now understand this decision and have no issues with it. My only real problem is that Spielberg doesn’t make the real world in this film seem bleak enough. It all looks nice and inviting, and I would have preferred a darker setting, to raise the stakes. However, I understand that it is aimed at a much younger audience, so I need to give it a rest. Is it one of Steven Spielberg’s greatest films? No, but I’ve enjoyed reading the books, and I am very interested to see how he approaches Ready Player Two. So as far as this franchise goes, I like Ready Player One, but after this review, I have realised I don’t love it. And I don’t want to pretend I do and leave it here. I don’t even think it’s this film, it is the whole modern blockbuster that is losing its appeal to me. You think all the money in the World would make movies better but unfortunately for the studios, it’s having the opposite effect. 

So, where shall I go next on My Journey into Science-Fiction Part 22? I nearly chose another Steven Spielberg film, Close Encounters of a Third Kind but another film was too tempting to avoid. War of the Worlds was directed by Steven Spielberg in 2005, but it’s the fifties adaptation by Byron Haskin that I have chosen. This film has intrigued me over the years, and now I can finally take a deep dive into its history. I am enjoying this journey, and there will be a few bumps along the way, but I hope you can join me next time.

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