I've been waiting to write this review since I read the book. I never thought I'd be able to, basically because I never thought anyone would be able to secure the rights to so many properties. But leave it to Steven Spielberg to prove me wrong! He even was able to mix properties like the Delorean from Back to the Future, with the grill from K.I.T. from Knight Rider. I hated the reclining seats at the theater because it almost prevented me from being on the edge of my seat the whole time!
The year is 2045 and in Columbus, Ohio teenager Wade Watts spends most of his time in the OASIS. The OASIS is a computer generated world where everything happens. Kids go to school there, vendors set up shop, and people can be whoever and whatever they dream of. Wade goes by the tag of Parzival, who was the last seeker of the Holy Grail and is played brilliantly by Tye Sheridan. In the OASIS, Parzival is joined by long time friend Aech (Lena Waithe), Sho (Phillip Zhao), and Daito (Win Morisaki). The four, having never met in the real world, dream of finding the three keys left by OASIS creator James Halliday.
Halliday (Mark Rylance) grew up in the 1980's, loving all things "pop-culture" wise about the era. When the very eccentric Halliday, and partner Ogden Morrow (Simon Pegg) created the OASIS they could have never imagined how important it would become to the world. Upon Halliday's death, a message went out, from him, informing the world that there would be a contest. The winner of which would gain control of the OASIS as well as Halliday's shares in the company.
It has been years since Halliday's passing and the frenzy over the keys have died down due to no one having even found the first key. Wade, however, has never given up. He frequents a library of Halliday's memories. Wade knows everything there is to know about Halliday's life. Wade hopes that someday this knowledge will lead him to the three keys and finally the "Easter Egg" which, once claimed, determines the overall winner.
The film follows Wade/Parzival and his merry clan in their search for the three keys. It's during a race for the first key that Parzival meets Art3mis (Olivia Cooke), a beautiful avatar that Parzival has never seen. He is instantly smitten and saves her from being killed during the race. A friendship blooms and Art3mis is introduced to the rest of the clan. After the race Wade discovers the secret to winning the first key, and after doing so, the world sees the name PARZIVAL light up on the world board that tracks the game. Winning the first key allots Parzival a large amount of coin and instant recognition. It also draws the attention of the head of the corporation I0I. I0I is intent on winning the game and taking control of the OASIS in order to profit greatly from the users.
The head of I0I is Sorrento, played by Ben Mendlesohn. Like any corporate head, he doesn't like to get his hands dirty, so he employees a henchmen named I-ROk (TJ Miller). I-ROk is tapped to eliminate Parzival within the game while the I0I security searches for Wade and company in the real world. The race for the keys is on as the drama unfolds in a fast paced scavenger hunt for the ultimate prize!
Really loved how this movie took me back to my own childhood. It blended everything that was good about being a kid in the 80's with everything I love about video games and science fiction today. Still think that I-ROk's avatar should have been Skelator though!
Based on the book by Ernest Cline, the film turned out to be pretty great. The books are always going to be better than a film, but this one was pretty close and I understand the things they left out. The editor did a pretty good job, but I am hoping for and extended cut on Blu-Ray. The mix between animation and live action was distributed well, and the action scenes were very intense. I found myself searching for characters from long past television shows and movies, which was very fun! I would definitely recommend this for anyone 10 and older. Thanks again to Ernie Cline for writing such a great, and positive universe for us all to enjoy so much.
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