Film Review: "Ready Player One" (2018).

"A better reality awaits." Get ready for Ready Player One. This science fiction adventure film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, and written by Zak Penn and Ernest Cline, based on Cline's 2011 novel of the same name. In the year 2045, the real world is a harsh place, and most of humanity spends their days in an immersive virtual universe called the OASIS. The OASIS was created by the brilliant and eccentric James Halliday, who left his immense fortune and total control of the Oasis to the winner of a three-part contest he designed to find a worthy heir. When Wade Watts conquers the first challenge of the reality-bending treasure hunt, he and his friends-aka the High Five-are hurled into a fantastical universe of discovery and danger to save the OASIS.

In June 2010, Warner Bros. and De Line Pictures acquired the adaptation rights to Cline's novel, before its publication. Cline stipulated two conditions in the agreement with the studio: he and Eric Eason get to write the first draft of the script, and Cline wanted Spielberg to direct. Spielberg and Penn were later hired direct and rewrite the script. Cline and Penn made several revisions that made significant changes from the novel, including the removal of almost all references to Spielberg and his filmography. In September 2015, Cooke was announced to have been cast in the role of Art3mis. In January 2016, Ben Mendelsohn joined the cast as Nolan Sorrento. In February 2016, Tye Sheridan was confirmed in the lead role of Parzival, after a lengthy nationwide casting call failed to produce an unknown for the part. In March 2016, Simon Pegg joined the cast as Ogden Morrow. In April 2016, Mark Rylance joined the cast as James Halliday, and by July 2016, T.J. Miller, Hannah John-Kamen, Win Morisaki, Philip Zhao, Lena Waithe, Ralph Ineson, McKenna Grace, and Letitia Wright were later announced to have joined the cast. Principal photography began in July 2016, and wrapped in September. Locations included Birmingham, England. Industrial Light & Magic was brought on to create the film's immense visual effects. Spielberg worked with ILM to oversee the film's visual effects. In an interview, Spielberg said this was the third most difficult movie he has made in his career, behind Jaws (1975) and Saving Private Ryan (1998). The film was originally scheduled to be released on December 15, 2017, but was pushed back to March 30, 2018, to avoid competition with Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017). The music score was originally going to be composed by longtime Spielberg collaborator John Williams. However, due to working on another Spielberg film, The Post (2017), he left and Alan Silvestri took over. This was only the third film where Spielberg did not collaborate with Williams.

The film stars Sheridan, Cooke, Mendelsohn, Waithe, Pegg, John-Kamen, Morisaki, Zhao, Miller, and Rylance. The cast gave terrific performances that harken back to the archetypal Spielberg summer blockbuster performances.

Ready Player One is a dazzling movie from Steven Spielberg in which virtual reality have been used to help humanity live adventurous and fantastical lives. Here's a visually immersive show that is sensational, stylish, and fun.

Simon says Ready Player One receives:

Also, see my review for The Post.