Directed by Steven Spielberg, the film is a novel adaptation of the book “Ready Player One,” written by Ernest Cline.

In 2045, the planet is heavily intoxicated and on the brink of collapse. And so, people find salvation in the OASIS, an expansive virtual reality universe created by James Halliday. When Halliday dies, he promises his immense fortune to the first person to discover a digital Easter egg that's hidden somewhere in the OASIS. The journey begins when the protagonist Wade Watts joins the contest, slowly unraveling the mystery of the easter egg. Wade Watts is a character played by Tye Sheridan. Sheridan is known for playing the young Scott Summers / Cyclops in the reboot X-Men/Deadpool film series and Ben Goudy in Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse.

The story starts with the exposition that society in the future 2045 is horrible and everyone logs in to the OASIS daily to escape their terrible lives, lives affected by overpopulation, unemployment, and energy shortages. Wade Watts is no exception to this harsh environment as he logs into OASIS in his search for Halliday's Easter egg to gain massive fortune. In order to get to the egg, a player must first find three keys and unlock three gates. Wade Watts slowly progresses through the story by getting hints from Halliday’s records and the help of his friends. Eventually, Watts becomes the hero who found Halliday’s Easter egg. 

The film is amazing at establishing an expansive virtual reality game setting that looks futuristic and game-breaking. The movie has so many hidden “easter eggs” (references from today’s modern entertainment world). The use of colorful and neon-bright visuals makes the viewer feel immense in the virtual reality game. The movie further emphasizes this feeling of it being a highly-developed VR game, adding so much detail to its characters and world-building, making it visually appealing to both the players and the viewers watching the movie. It shows numerous worlds/places players can travel to and every player is a different avatar (displaying different species and having unique accessories), it shows the game has almost infinite characterization. The film explores themes of escapism and has a unique take on how the future can be despotic. 

From a casual movie watcher's standpoint, this movie was fun to watch despite its plot holes. People who read the novel were disappointed in the movie’s direction on how the novel went. However, I find the movie enjoyable because of the many game/pop culture references that it has and the amount of detail/CGI that was put into the film. 

Spielberg's goal was to make a motion picture that would appeal to both video game enthusiasts and newcomers alike. I think it was a success as it received many positive reviews from others saying it was a fun movie and a nostalgic experience for those who grew up in the 20th century and pop culture references in the 2000s.