By CASSANDRA GILBERT
Staff Writer
“Ready Player One” is Steven Spielberg’s newest cinematic blockbuster. It is set in the year 2045 when the world is on the brink of collapse. To overcome their unfortunate lives, people spend their time in an expansive and all- encompassing virtual reality world called the OASIS.
When the creator of this world, James Halliday, dies, he bids farewell with a video and a clue that leads the finder to an immense treasure and control of the virtual world. Since the OASIS is where everyone in the real world spends the bulk of their time, controlling the OASIS is like
controlling the world.
The graphic components and effects of this film are absolutely incredible. This film is based on the book “Ready Player One” by Ernest Cline, where the visuals were described as something that would be best left to the imagination. However, Spielberg’s creative team managed to bring this book to life on the big screen without any of the cheesy animations or effects seen in recent years.
Not only is this movie visually stunning, but the story doesn’t entirely lose intrigue or momentum for the sake of cinematic wonder. There are some slow spots, and it certainly isn’t a nonstop action film, but it’s always interesting.
Much of the enjoyment from this film likely comes from the ceaseless references. The book focused on 80’s nostalgias, but Spielberg clearly wanted to branch out his target market to really draw in as many potential viewers as possible solely from people’s childhood novelties. This film includes pop culture references from the 1980s all the way up through today.
According to fans of the original “Ready Player One,” the film is actually better than the book as it captured images that a literary take simply could not. The liberties taken with the film did not take away from the story or hinder a book-lover’s enjoyment.
Overall, “Ready Player One” is a compilation of pop culture references, crazy effects, stunning visuals, and an almost new plotline.
It’s a fun film, whether you’ve read the book or not.
