Ready Player One2018

54/100 Mechagodzilla showed up and I clapped (not literally, but you take my meaning). Other than that, though, it was pretty middling. However, this isn't a bad movie by far, so let's start positive. First is that this movie is far more entertaining than recent fare. So many fun scenes are in this movie, full of action with fast-paced and great choreography. There's the aformentioned scene which has the sick idea of Mechagodzilla against a Gundam, but there are also others like the Shining sequence and the danceroom scene. However, such scenes are a double-edged sword, as most of them are lessened by the fact there's a pop culture reference every second which feels overly self-congratulatory. Yes, I see Rexy. Yes, I see King Kong. Yes, I see the Shining. Can I see a well-constructed movie, please? In addition to this, the movie sets up an interesting premise with the world, yet never explores it satisfactorily. Instead, the worldbuilding of the OASIS is mostly relegated to dry exposition which takes up way too much time. The actual worldbuilding is relegated to the background in favour of character development, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I wanted to learn more about this world and was kind of disappointed by the end as a result. However, the characters and the themes explored are another positive for this movie. I did like Art3mis and Parzival as characters, and the side cast was fun enough. Nolan was also fun with how obnoxiously evil he was. The themes explored here of the connections which can be formed online as well as the need to confront reality are also nice touches. They weren't handled amazingly and certainly didn't blow my mind or anything, but I felt it was done well enough and added something to the film. Overall, this film is really fun at times and dreadful at others. It's the definition of a mixed bag, but there's enough good in there that it can't be considered a total loss. If I was alive in the 80s and 90s, I could see this being a fun little throwback to a more nostalgic era, but as is, it's a mediocre movie with decent entertainment value.