Sci-fi, virtual reality, and nostalgic pop culture collide in Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Ernest Cline’s 2011 novel about a teenager’s quest to win a game in order to gain control of a massive digital universe. In 2045 in dystopian Columbus, OH, Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) is an orphaned nerd, living in “the stacks,” a grimy, vertical trailer park. Wade spends most of his time immersed in a virtual game-room called the OASIS, where one can be whoever one wishes. Before he died, eccentric tech-genius James Halliday (Mark Rylance) left players one last contest. Whoever can solve three challenges will inherit not only his half-trillion-dollar fortune but also control over the OASIS, which he founded with Ogden Morrow (Simon Pegg). Wade has chosen Parzival as his OASIS avatar, playing alongside his best friend, Hulk-sized Aech (Lena Waithe), as well as Art3mis (Olivia Cooke), Daito (Win Morisaki), and Shoto (Philip Zhao). The bad guy is Nolan Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn), ruthless CEO of Innovative Online Industries, who hires hardcore gamers, known as gunters, to follow obtuse clues drawn from memories of every movie, comic book, and video game the socially awkward programmer Halliday ever saw or played. That propels chaotic car/motorcycle/monster truck chases through a murky wonderworld to blaring rock music, along with battles featuring T-Rex, King Kong, Mechagodzilla, and the Iron Giant. This is an overstuffed escapist fantasy, brimming with flashy eye candy and fanboy ferocity, but Spielberg still manages to inject some sweetness, sentiment, and emotional involvement into the story. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the behind-the-scenes featurettes “Game Changer: Cracking the Code” (57 min.), “Effects for a Brave New World” (25 min.), “Ernie & Tye’s Excellent Adventure” (12 min.), “High Score: Endgame” (10 min.), “Level Up: Sounds of the Future” (8 min.), and “The ‘80s: You’re the Inspiration” (6 min.), as well as Easter eggs. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: a fine extras package for this YA futuristic thriller.] (S. Granger)
Ready Player One
Warner, 140 min., PG-13, DVD: $28.98, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: $35.99, 4K: $44.95, July 24 Volume 33, Issue 4
Ready Player One
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As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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