Push Admin

Movie review: 'Ready Player One' is worth playing for the Easter eggs

Article (news)

Vincent Garcia, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/life/03/30/ready1.jpg"/><figcaption>Wade Watts sits inside a rundown van and tries to figure out the challenges left behind by the Oasis creator, James Halliday. <em>Warner Bros. Pictures</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>For a movie that preaches about the dangers of escapism and wasting your life playing video games, &quot;Ready Player One&quot; sure doesn&#x27;t do a good job of painting a real world worth living in.</p><p>The year is 2045 and Earth has succumbed to overpopulation and global warming. Respite from all these present-day hardships is the Oasis, a massive virtual reality game where players can be anyone they want to be. We follow Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan), an orphaned boy living in the slums who takes the lead in the race to solve the puzzles left behind by the game&#x27;s late founder, James Halliday (Mark Rylance) --created to determine a worthy heir to his virtual kingdom.</p><p>Plugging in with Watts, we get to experience the Oasis, a wondrous, enticing world where it&#x27;s possible to use the DeLorean to outrun a T-Rex, climb snowy mountains with Batman, or watch the Iron Giant go toe-to-toe with a robot Godzilla. It&#x27;s a virtual delight that&#x27;s worth the price of admission alone, and serves as a sharp contrast to the bleakness of our hero&#x27;s real.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/life/03/30/ready2.jpg"/><figcaption>The Iron Giant leads the charge during a scene in &#x27;Ready Player One.&#x27; <em>Warner Bros. Pictures</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>It&#x27;s not new for a piece about virtual reality to present such dichotomy, although the unevenness of the two worlds in &quot;Ready Player One&quot; can leave one scratching their digital heads. In the Oasis, death equals decades of your life lost, time one is never going to get back. Outside of it, people are killed off without consequences. In the Oasis, players get to develop feelings, form lasting friendships. Outside, love is forced through exposition, stripping confessions of any weight.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/life/03/30/ready3.jpg"/><figcaption>Wade Watts meets in real life one the allies he makes during his quest to solve Halliday&#x27;s puzzles in a scene in &#x27;Ready Player One.&#x27; <em>Warner Bros. Pictures</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>If the point is to convince today&#x27;s perpetually plugged-in generation to value offline human connections above all else, or criticize a stunted society excessively fixated on nostalgia, then it needs to treat the real with the same care and doe-eyed affection it afforded the Oasis.</p><p>Despite this major glitch, &quot;Ready Player One,&quot; in the hands of director Steven Spielberg --a master of the boy adventure story-- remains an immersive spectacle, where the joy lies in seeing childhood favorites and forgotten pop culture relics pepper Watts&#x27; quest inside the vibrant digital world.</p><p>If you&#x27;re looking for a movie that brings to the table fresh ideas or arguments for and against virtual reality, however, then you&#x27;re maybe better off logging out from this one.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/life/03/30/ready4.jpg"/><figcaption>A night club inside the Oasis, where players can enjoy a dance in zero gravity. <em>Warner Bros. Pictures</em></figcaption></figure></div><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/life/03/30/ready5.jpg"/><figcaption>Watts, as his alter-ego Parzival, uses the DeLorean to compete in a race. <em>Warner Bros. Pictures</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>&quot;Ready Player One,&quot; which was based on a best-selling novel by Ernest Cline, premieres in cinemas nationwide this Black Saturday. You can check out the trailer below:</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cSp1dM2Vj48?enablejsapi=1"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="~//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="~//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

<p>For a movie that preaches about the dangers of wasting your life playing video games, 'Ready Player One' sure doesn’t do a good job of painting a real world worth living in.</p>

For a movie that preaches about the dangers of wasting your life playing video games, 'Ready Player One' sure doesn’t do a good job of painting a real world worth living in.

Movie review: 'Ready Player One' is worth playing for the Easter eggs

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Traffic

Manila

Horoscope

Lifestyle

Movie review: 'Ready Player One' is worth playing for the Easter eggs

Vincent Garcia,

ABS-CBN News

Published Mar 31, 2018 09:07 AM PHT

Read More:

Ready Player One

Steven Spielberg

movie reviews

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.