Ready Player One
Spielberg’s Love Letter to Pop Culture
I could easily see how some might find Ready Player One to be mindless nostalgia or pandering fan service. You’ve got everyone from Batman to Mechagodzilla bashing each other over the head with reference after reference to that glorious 1970s/1980s era of pop culture that’s so popular right now. The overall narrative is relatively standard outside of the abundance of callbacks and while the performances are solid across the board, they’re probably not what most people are coming to the theater to see. So if someone doesn’t worship at the altar of Jon Hughes or Stanley Kubrick and drink deeply from the well of synth pop music and video game characters, I can understand how they wouldn’t find this movie to be much more than a dumb, loud blockbuster.
But for me, I found a celebration of so many different characters, ideas, and stories that have influenced me over the years. In the same scene we can see references to Kubrick’s The Shining and have jokes about Ferris Bueller or King Kong. We can see the Iron Giant continue to be a pure, selfless hero while we also watch Chucky terrorize dozens of victims. While I do admit I feel that Ready Player One has some writing issues, with characters and ideas often feeling contrived or rushed in service of the plot, the sheer volume of callbacks, nods, references, and loving tributes on display here show Spielberg’s famous love for pop culture at its absolute zenith.
Sure, every viewer won’t have the same appreciation for a reference to the Sulaco or Marty McFly, but the sense of wonder and energy that Spielberg infuses into each new setting, scenario, and set piece is addictive, at least for me. The overwhelming number of pop culture references are a harmless distraction, but the way Spielberg uses them, playing with and utilizing the ways in which these characters and stories have shaped the collective pop culture consciousness, further shows that he understands spectacle in a way few filmmakers ever could.
No, the emotional depth of Jurassic Park and the shocking impact of Saving Private Ryan aren’t here, but the mystery and wonder of Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. are on full display, as is Speilberg’s obvious affection for filmmakers like Robert Zemeckis (this film clearly owes a debt to Who Framed Roger Rabbit and the Back to the Future films), Stanley Kubrick, James Cameron, Ridley Scott, Jon Hughes, the Wachowskis, George Lucas, and more.
One’s enjoyment of Ready Player One may depend on how much he or she has watched movies, listened to music, and learned about pop culture. But the characters are still entertaining, even if someone doesn’t recognize the elevator doors from the Overlook Hotel. There’s a fairly standard good vs. evil conflict here, but it’s far from the worst version of this story I’ve seen. I’d personally like a little more time to flesh out some of the supporting cast, but the film moves along briskly in order to tell its sprawling story and still pay homage to as many stories and characters possible. I don’t know how well the film will age, with the story’s central conceit of virtual reality being relevant now, but maybe not in the same way ten years form now. But its joyful inclusion of the stories that have influenced so many is a relatable idea, and I think will continue to find an audience in years to come.
In the end, Ready Player One is a colorful blockbuster from Steven Spielberg. It’s well made, and as entertaining a film as one could find in a movie theater right now. I can see how it may not be to everyone’s tastes, but for me, I found a celebration of movies, music, and stories, and that love for story is what compels me to make movies. For someone as renowned as Mr. Spielberg to share his own adoration of these things with us is a delight, and also an inspiration.
