Ready Player One

      The latest science fiction adventure from director Steven Spielberg is based on the best selling novel by Ernest Cline. It is high speed escapist fun that splits its time between the real world of Earth in 2045 and the virtual reality world of "The Oasis".

       Ty Sheridan stars as Wade Watts, a young man living in "the stacks", a ghetto of sorts in Columbus Ohio. He spends most of his waking hours as "Parzival", his avatar in the world of The Oasis. Designed by James Halliday, played by a terrific Mark Rylance, The Oasis started out as an immersive online game but has now become a way of life for most people. When Halliday dies, he leaves behind the ultimate game, find three keys that reveal clues to an "easter egg". Whoever finds the egg, will control the Oasis and Halliday's fortune.

       The film co-stars Ben Mendlesohn as Nolan Sorrento, the villainous CEO of a company out to control The Oasis for themselves.  Also starring are Olivia  Cooke and Lena Waithe as friends of Parzival, Simon Pegg as Ogden Morrow, the co-creator of The Oasis, and T. J. Miller as the voice of i-Rok, an Oasis villain.

      Mr. Spielberg is the perfect director for this story. He infuses his love of sci-fi as well as pop culture into every scene. Much of the viewing fun is spotting all the pop culture references, some more obvious than others. He also stresses themes of diversity and family with his cast choices and their interactions.

      There are eye-popping visuals in a story that never seems to slow down as it toggles between what's real and what's virtual reality. Targeted for a very specific audience, it is loud and overwhelming at times but fans of this genre will really enjoy themselves.