The film takes place in the year 2045. An orphaned young man named Wade Watts narrates to the audience about life during that time.

The biggest part of life is that everyone spends their time in a virtual reality simulation called the OASIS, except for when they need to eat, sleep, or use the bathroom. And although if you get defeated in virtual reality, but turn out okay, you lose everything else.

People also have avatars in the OASIS that have different names and physical appearances than in real life. The creator, James Halliday, left a prerecorded message before he died, stating that whoever can be the first the find the golden easter egg will be the new owner of the OASIS. But they have to complete three challenges to do so.

The contests have already attracted several different competitors, including Nolan Sorrento, the CEO of Innovative Online Industries. But, of course, Wade is interested in participating, too. His friend, Aech, and Artemis, this girl Wade is attracted to, are also competing.

The three participate in the first challenge. Wade wins the copper key after driving backwards (the bridge was destroyed by a King Kong-like gorilla).

Later, Aech takes Wade and Artemis to his shed in the OASIS. They discover a lot of things.

At some point, Wade goes with this British avatar to a museum-like setting to learn more about Halliday’s life. He discovers a lot.

Wade also goes to a dance in the OASIS with Artemis. They have fun for a little bit. But then the event ends due to attacks. Eventually Wade saves Artemis.

In real life, Wade’s aunt, Alice, is being abused by her boyfriend. Aunt Alice yells at Wade, too.

Not long after, Wade meets Artemis in real life. Her actual name is Samantha Cook.

More challenges occur, including going into the universe of The Shining by Stephen King. Of course, chaos happens there, too.

Stakes increase, as well, in both the real world and the OASIS. Later, Samantha gets kidnapped. Both Wade and Aech will do everything they can to save her, even if it involves threatening other people.

The premise of the movie was quite interesting. I admire the idea of virtual reality becoming part of everyday life in the future. Of course, as of 2025 (or 2018, when this film was released), we do not know if that will happen.

I also appreciate the worldbuilding of this sci-fi universe. Rather than being post-apocalyptic, the setting is heavy with advanced technology. Getting to “know” people through virtual reality was also interesting.

The beginning of the movie really drew me in with its upbeat background music and fast pacing. Another aspect that intrigued me was the pop-culture references to other works, such as climbing a mountain with Batman or going into the Stephen King world, like The Shining.

The characters were authentic. I admired how Artemis told Wade that he shouldn’t have used his real name in the OASIS or tried to ask her out, because he really didn’t know her. However, I did enjoy seeing Wade meet Artemis (or Samantha) in the real world.

Regardless of the strengths, though, this film is not without its flaws. One bizarre moment was how James Halliday lifted himself from his tomb and spoke to the public. I actually said out loud, “How can you talk if you’re dead?” Even in a futuristic sci-fi world, this is a bit too much.

The film is also very complex. Points-of-view switch constantly. I understand that that is crucial for storytelling in movies. However, with this one, it made the plot a little bit hard to follow. And more so as the story progressed. The action and fighting contributed to that, too. I actually was losing my attention toward the end of the movie.

But overall, Ready Player One turned out to be quite decent. As a PG-13 rated film, aside from intense action and weapon usage, it has some foul language (no F-word uses, though). Therefore, I would recommend viewers be, at least, 13 to watch this—maybe 12 if they’re really mature.

It is also quite long, running for about 2 hours and 20 minutes. So, this might not be a good choice for people with super short attention spans.

Would I recommend this movie? The honest answer is maybe.

I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.