For video game fans everywhere, the quest for a good movie adaptation has been a long one, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Doom and (the 1993 movie) Mario were all met with a frosty reception but nowadays we've been on a decent run of video game depictions on the silver screen. The Sonic Movies are great fun, and the Gran Turismo movie was T3 Tech Editor Mike Lowe's favourite film of 2023. But if you're after a film that captures the very essence of video games, check out Ready Player One,
Directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the hit novel of the same name, Ready Player One is a blockbuster sci-fi set in 'The OASIS' a virtual world full of games that offers millions an escape from grim reality. Somewhere Mark Zuckerberg's ears just pricked up. Well, he's going to have to wait until February 3rd to watch it on Netflix.
Whether it's Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park or E.T. Steven Spielberg has made a career of making people feel warm and nostalgic and Ready Player One is the most obvious example of that. Film fans of a certain generation will be pointing at the screen and frantically explaining to loved ones what each of the hundreds of references stashed into the story are. Expect to see anything and everything from the 80s make an appearance, from Star Trek and Friday the 13th to Heathers and The Shining.
So what's the actual film about? Well, we follow Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) and his avatar Parzival, a self-confessed 'Gunter' - someone looking for the fabled OASIS easter eggs planted by its late creator. Collect all three and the keys to the kingdom will be yours. Of course, while Wade's intentions are good, not all those after the secrets of the OASIS are as noble.
This isn't Spielberg's finest film (that would be saying a lot) but luckily Ready Player One is a superb popcorn blockbuster. It's a brilliant film for a family movie night (if you have teenagers) or a splendid geeky date movie. If you're after more video-game-flavoured sci-fi then keep your eyes tuned to Amazon Prime Video with a Fallout TV series set to arrive in April.
