Review of “Ready Player One” (mild spoilers)

* * * B

Ready Player One is a science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg. The hero of the story, Wade (Tye Sheridan) is a loser from the bad side of Cincinnati, but in the on-line world of Oasis, he’s an elite competitor, Parzival, who is searching for the three keys that, once found, unlock the fortune of the deceased creator of the game, the 80’s pop culture obsessed Halliday (Mark Rylance), who left an archive of his entire life that can be accessed from the game.

With his friends Art3mis (Olivia Cooke), Aech (Lena Waithe), Daito (Win Morisaki) and Sho (Philip Zhao), he must battle the evil sixers who are after the keys for their boss, Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn), who plans to turn the Oasis into a giant ad site. The battle soon moves from the game to the real world. When, with the help of I-Rok (T.J. “Weasel” Miller), Sorrento uses a high level artifact to prevent anyone else from finding the last key, an all out battle ensues.

This movie is a lot of fun, and is full of pop culture references. The effects are good. The story is simple, and many of the elements familiar, taken from films like Tron and The Matrix. The story most closely resembles Sword Art Online. Even if you don’t like science fiction, you’ll probably enjoy this one.

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