Year: 2018
Genre: Science Fiction
Not disappointing, but a hardly jaw dropping 2.5 out of 5.
HIS opinion
Most of us forget (or had no idea) that virtual reality is in it's second iteration. Technology that was originally released in the very early 90's has had a second bite at the cherry and although it's come on huge leaps and bounds, is still 'not quite there yet'. Much like big screen 3D it still has it's limitations, but we all know that one day technology that completely and utterly immerses the user in another world will be commonplace. 'Ready Player One' envisages that day.
You'd be forgiven for assuming that Spielberg had moved on from making the crowd pleasing popcorn fests of the eighties and early nineties. Most of his recent work has been heavily politically influenced, and although 2015's 'Bridge of Spies' and more recently 2018's Oscar nominated 'The Post' have received critical acclaim, you could hardly place them in the same genre as 'Jurassic Park', or 'Jaws'. One glimpse of the Struzanian influences on the poster for 'Ready Player One' though, and the audience knows they are in for a completely difference type of fairground ride.
Based on Earnest Cline's 2011 novel and set in 2045, 'Ready Player One' is set in a world I personally found very reminiscent of Neill Blomkamp's 'District 9'. The population has resorted to escaping the desolation of these slum-like cities by engaging in the virtual reality world of the Oasis, a sort of massive multiplayer online world where users have their own avatar and gamer tag. In this world there are three secret keys, coded by one of the original developers and the gamer who finds them gains full ownership of this world combined with a rather large amount of money in the form of company shares. The film's protagonist, Wade Watts, tasks himself with finding these keys and along the way battles a company intent of monetizing the Oasis and profiteering from it's users. Right from the outset, the films sucker punches modern publishers and their drift towards micro transactions will not be missed on the gamer portion of the audience.
As a purely visual form of entertainment 'Ready Player One' is a success. If there was one regret I would take away from the film it would be that I didn't see it in IMAX 3D. It is simply stunning to look at, and the colour palette it utilities is vast. Start chipping away at the ground breaking CGI however, and cracks start to appear. Character development is almost none existent, and the films protagonist goes through emotional changes that happen so quickly they are comically unrealistic.
As a purely visual form of entertainment 'Ready Player One' is a success. If there was one regret I would take away from the film it would be that I didn't see it in IMAX 3D. It is simply stunning to look at, and the colour palette it utilities is vast. Start chipping away at the ground breaking CGI however, and cracks start to appear. Character development is almost none existent, and the films protagonist goes through emotional changes that happen so quickly they are comically unrealistic.
As you may have seen from the trailer, one of the big draws for the film is the number of nods to other franchises it contains. I must admit, this was one of the aspects that drew me towards it as well. The problem with this however, is that Spielberg tries cater for the younger AND older audience members, and what you're left with is references to contemporary Japanese Anime mish-mashed together with films and game consoles from the mid 1970's. It becomes confusing, and the films wanton desire to throw every single character license it could afford at the audience looses it's appeal, very very quickly.
Over reliance on CGI and lack of focus on character development is sadly the Achilles heel of this film and it really is a shame. We know that it's not that Spielberg can't do it, but in 'Ready Player One' he just seems to want to dazzle younger audience members with cultural references whilst older audience members sit there feeling puzzled. Spielberg need look no further than James Cameron's 'Avatar', a thematically very similar film to see that ground breaking visuals and good character development can, and have gone hand in hand in cinematic history.
Not disappointing, but a hardly jaw dropping 2.5 out of 5.
HER opinion
Spoiler warning: plot/ending discussed. Read at your own risk!!!!
I spent this entire film thinking WTF. I knew before watching that I wasn't the target audience, but this turned out to be the biggest understatement ever. In contrast, my teenage nephews - right up their street. I can imagine them talking about it with friends at school for days!
I felt like I was watching a film written for teenagers which wasn't quite sophisticated enough to appeal to a non-video gaming adult audience. I found the storyline hugely predictable, it was almost like watching an episode of Scooby Doo where a gang of kids follow clues to nail the baddie. Especially one of the final scenes involving a police car (trying hard not to drop any spoilers here folks, but it's so predictable you can probably guess what I mean anyway). I almost expected the baddie to utter the immortal 'I'd have gotten away with it if it wasn't for you meddling kids'. In fact he should have - the film missed out on a killer pop culture reference there!!
At times it was cheesy, corny and one huge cliche. I actually groaned at the cheesiness a few times and it brought to mind '50 Shades' - and that's saying something! The big baddie was almost a pantomine villian, especially his corporate-looking avatar and unbelievable password. Oh and don't get me started on one of the other characters - a homage to Garth in 'Wayne's World'?! Hilarious in the 1990s, not quite so in the current day. And what was with the random 'The Shining' scenes??? Isn't 'The Shining' an 18-rated film? Yet 'Ready Player One' is rated 12a, so I don't quite get the mix there. Is the target audience expected to understand the Garth and 'The Shining' references? Or are they aimed at the parents taking their kids to see this at the flicks?
There is a section in the film where characters discuss the possibility that gaming avatars may not be an honest representation of who the players are in real life. But low and behold! Yes, the real people behind the teenage avatars do indeed turn out to be teenagers. Hmm. I understand the film's reluctance to visit the seedy underbelly of this topic, but not quite sure the importance of this mindful messsge will actually stick with the millions of kids watching.
Now, let's find some positives; Couldn't fault the costumes or the cinematography. Very stylish and swish, as expected from a Speilberg blockbuster. And believe it or not, I liked the original premise that the future is distopian so people 'live' in VR instead. I just felt the storyline, script and incessant pop culture references were a little OTT for my liking. The only snippet which held my interest was one character sacrificing themselves and making a hand gesture as they fell. (I am a sucker for self-sacrifice, every time. Whether it's in 'The Walking Dead' or 'Titanic' - you name it, it gets me.)
The ending conveys a message about spending too much time living in video games. Commendable. But somewhat ironic considering the audience has just spent two hours watching a computer game rather than a film.
I wish I could be more positive about Ready Player One. This review is just my feeble little opinion, after all. I suspect millions will love it and it'll be a rip-roaring success at the box office. It is just not my cup of tea.
Edit - I have just watched the review podcast by BBC film critic Mark Kermode. He said he laughed often, felt uplifted & was emotionally involved with the characters. Humph. I'm obviously missing something here. Shall I give it another chance to win me over? Not on your nelly.
1/5
PS. I feel bad writing such a harsh review. I'm usually an advocate of 'if you can't say anything nice then don't say anything at all'. Honestly
