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READY PLAYER ONE
Dir: Steven Spielberg (12A 123 mins)
Ernest Cline’s fantastic fanboy pleasing sci-fi novel is given the full Spielbergian treatment in an epic quest through virtual reality and eighties nostalgia. Set in the nearish overpopulated future, Wade Watts, played by Tye Sheridan escapes the drudgery of his everyday life in the stacks, essentially a high rise ghetto, by entering the virtual reality world of the Oasis. Essentially a role-playing playground with an avatar of your choosing, Parzival in Wade’s case, founded by genius James Halliday played by Mark Rylance. When Halliday dies, he releases a video challenging all Oasis users to find the clues to an Easter Egg, hidden within his virtual reality world, that will grant the winner his trillion dollar fortune and the keys to his kingdom. Sheridan teams up with Olivia Cooke’s Artemis, searching for answers in the real and virtual world as dastardly Ben Mendehlson, whose corporation want the Oasis for themselves, gives chase. What ensues is an onslaught of eye candy, referencing everything from The Iron Giant to Back to the Future to Dungeons and Dragons. Cline’s book was both a love letter to eighties culture and a cutting-edge virtual thriller and Spielberg is the only director who stands a chance of melding the both. This should be a truly massive thrill ride. Insert coins.
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Opens March 29