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davidahallnum5
Aug 9, 20229 min read

Ready Player One 3D Blu-ray Review

Updated: Apr 8, 2023

Ready Player One is a 2018 prophecy for a dystopian future in which everyone chooses to spend their lives hooked on a virtual reality video game controlled by a gigantic technological company more powerful than the government itself while leaving their own lives, and reality as a whole, out to rot disguised as a somewhat lightweight sci-fi action adventure movie.

In all honesty though, this movie is about a teenager named Wade Watts in the year 2045 who, just like everyone else, spends all their time in the Matrix. I mean, the OASIS. The OASIS is a virtual reality world similar to our own, except you can be whoever you want and do whatever you want. When the creator of the game Billy Halliday dies, he leaves behind three keys for people to find. And whoever gets to all three keys first becomes in charge of the OASIS. When a greedy company aims to take control of the OASIS by finding the three keys, it becomes up to Wade Watts, and the friends he meets along the way, to get ahold of the three keys first in an adventure that not only creates havoc in the game, but also in the real world.

Lately, director Steven Spielberg hasn't been making as memorable films now as he did back in the day. He's had had a run with top notch movies from Jaws back in 1975 to E.T in 1982 to Jurassic Park in 1993 to Minority Report in 2002. But it seems as if somewhere around War of the Worlds in 2005, most of Spielberg's catalog has been pretty hit or miss. We get well-made movies from him from time to time such as Bridge of Spies in 2015. But then we also get forgettable flicks such as The BFG in 2016. In fact, it seems now, Spielberg's been going for a nostalgic trend. Here, Ready Player One contains constant references to movies and pop culture from back in the day, much that funny enough, Spielberg himself is responsible for. And just last year, he made an enjoyable enough, if yet somewhat unnecessary, West Side Story remake. That's not to say that most of his movies are bad. But it does sadly mean we might not be getting another groundbreaking film like Jurassic Park from him anytime soon.

That being said, while Ready Player One is a certainly a movie that is style over substance, that doesn't stop it from being one of his more fun films in recent years. And it proves that Spielberg is still a director who, even when he's not making the most memorable film of the time, still knows what he's doing. This movie brings up themes about what happens when a society decides to embrace the virtual rather than the real world and what disturbing implications it can have. On surface level, the co-existence of these ever-important themes and the glorification of pop culture aided by colorful visuals and high-paced action shouldn't really go hand in hand. And upon deep thought about it, the more I realize that they, in many ways, can't. But I personally believe that, for a movie that's all about color saturation and constant CGI action, the themes aren't handled that badly.

The message about reality being the only thing that's real is never unnecessarily shoehorned in, nor is it entirely glossed over. But I think it's done in a pretty subtle and effective manner that actually works with the story at hand. I don't want to delve into spoilers if you haven't seen the film for yourself. But I will say this: the story does delve outside the normal constrains of the video game world and allows for the characters in real life to meet each other, work together to accomplish their goal, and form actual personal relationships with each other. For some, this might not be enough for the film to be truly effective in its message by the time it reaches the end. But I personally think that it works. Not only because it's subtle and well-executed, but because the movie is also trying to make the point that technology isn't inherently bad.

Throughout the film, the goal always remains to prevent the OASIS from getting in the wrong hands. And there aren't any major changes to this premise as the film goes on. So, to many people I believe, this movie's lack of focus on being anti-technology makes its overall message underdeveloped. And I can't say I strongly disagree with that, I also believe that the film's core isn't entirely about leaving the realm of virtual reality for good, but rather that we there must be a balance to how we spend our lives. There's nothing inherently bad about pretending you're something you're not ever once in a while. But when it gets to a point where personal human relationships and society as a whole start deteriorating, something must obviously be done about it. This movie isn't trying to send us back to the Stone Age. It's merely a reminder that while video games and fancy visuals are fun to delve into, there must be limit to how much we spend on them so they don't become quite an idol.

But man does it remind of how fun video games and fancy visuals can be. As I said earlier, this movie is full of pop culture references and high paced CGI action. You know that if you know anything about the film at all. And if you aren't into that kind of thing, you'd probably write this one off, and I wouldn't blame you. But for the rest of us, this film throughout is still plenty of fun to watch. It's well paced, the action is creative and involving, and the constant pop culture references will definitely invoke plenty of nostalgia. The racing scene at the beginning is stunning, the Shining part was plenty frightening... I don't want to spoil the rest for you. I wouldn't call the film a masterpiece of action movies, mostly because it heavy on a CGI hyperrealistic style that I can see some people not getting into. But for anyone else who digs the visual style, they will find themselves having an awesome time with Ready Player One.

Ready Player One may not be one of Spielberg's more memorable outings. But if you like to see CGI being used in a fun and action-packed way, it delivers the goods. The message of choosing reality over virtual reality isn't anything new, mostly because we have The Matrix. But the usage of virtual reality in this movie, especially with Facebook's Metaverse underway, makes it's message more relevant today than ever. Of course, we all know where the movie is headed with it's message from the get go. And sure, I can see how people would see the message getting lost in all the highly caffeinated explosion of animated action. But if you sit down and watch it, you'll discover it's message isn't handled terribly either. All in all, it's an enjoyable popcorn movie that I wouldn't put in the must-watch category (if watching in 2D, but more on that in a minute), but still makes an enjoyable watch for anyone who likes a movie with plenty of style with a good amount of substance to go along with it. It can at times be a bit more theme park ride than actual movie, but it's still a pretty awesome theme park ride.


OVERALL FILM RATING 4/5



How is it that films with motion capture humans are the ones that end up looking the best in 3D? Of course, Ready Player One isn't all motion capture. There are plenty of scenes in the real world with real people. But think of it for a minute. Films like The Polar Express, A Christmas Carol, Beowulf, and even the infamous Mars Needs Moms all feature some of the best utilizations of 3D you'll ever find in a 3D movie. While Ready Player One slightly inches out of the category of those movies due to the real world scenes mentioned earlier, the CGI parts of the movie are absolute stellar with the 3D applied.

Just like A Christmas Carol and Beowulf, this movie knows how to throw stuff out at you, especially during the enormous action sequences. In the car racing scene, far example, debris, cars, and coins from recently killed players all flying off the screen. And in the screen, the action is still grand and mesmerizing. From the large cityscapes to the tracks to the cars to even King Kong, the sequence is completely immersive and interesting. During the Shining sequence, we get blood, an axe-wielding zombies swinging the axe back and forth out of the screen, and much more. Other pop outs I can recall include the iconic keys, people, an alien busting out of someone, guns, and even the Chucky doll.

Even during the in between scenes, the 3D is still outstanding, with depth bringing out the many details of the CGI world of the OASIS. Far away objects such as buildings go back far into the screen and all the surrounding elements have proper and lifelike space throughout. And when you couple the 3D with fascinating compositions with the cityscapes, the insides of surreal-looking buildings, and even the climax with the mountain battle, you can't help but be drawn into the experience. Watching these sequences in the OASIS without the 3D is like eating a sugar-free doughnut. It still looks like nice, but it isn't what the people who invented doughnuts intended for you to taste. The 3D is for sure the only way to experience Ready Player One simply because of these scenes.

Now just because the OASIS is a banger in 3D doesn't mean that the rest of the movie will maintain that same level of depth throughout. There is a video you can watch here describing the planning and effort that went into this movie's 3D. And in the video, Steven Spielberg talks about making the creative choice to post-convert all of the real world scenes with weak 3D while making all of the OASIS scenes with strong 3D. So if the real world scenes look somewhat unimpressive, it's because it was done that way intentionally. In fact, the opening shot of the film featuring large shots of dystopian Chicago with trailer homes stacked on top of one another looks to be the weakest shot of the whole movie, appearing almost completely flat. However, and maybe this is just me, I've noticed most of the other real world scenes have decent amounts of depth applied. That's not to say it's very amazing, but it hardly looks 2D throughout. Most everything appears to go back into the screen a very realistic amount and the surrounding people and objects in the screen are in their own proper 3D space. It's obviously not utilized in 3D to same extent as the OASIS parts. But the 3D, at least in my experience, wasn't completely light during the real world scenes. In fact, I think I'd say they're very good. I guess I should be thankful for that as it made the overall 3D experience that much better.

Bottom line, Ready Player One in 3D is absolutely incredible. This movie came out during a time when people weren't really caring for 3D. And while this film didn't get everyone quite hyped up again for the format, it did show that filmmakers still do care very much about making films in 3D look fantastic, and in some cases, a necessary element to experiencing the film. Luckily, 3D enthusiasts haven't let this film fade to obscurity. But being made closer to now than to the days of Avatar, it still never really gotten anyone talking about 3D the way plenty of films after Avatar came out did. It's a bit of a shame, really. But if you want to watch Ready Player One the way it was meant to be seen, do yourself a favor and buy the 3D version. And if you want to let filmmakers know that we still want 3D entertainment, go back to the last clause of the previous sentence. (This movie would've received the score of excellent, but due to the lack of overall impressiveness in the real world scenes, I'm knocking the overall score down to a great. But don't let that give you the wrong impression. This is still one of the best 3D movies to come out in the last few years.)


3D RATING: GREAT


Other recommended sites that review this movie's 3D (these reviews may not always match up with mine. But if you want a second opinion on the movie's 3D, these are sources I'd recommend checking out):






FINAL THOUGHTS:


Ready Player One is a movie that might not win over everyone with its hyper-active CGI style. But for the rest of us, it's a very fun ride indeed. While it might not be as groundbreaking in the story department as other films, its story still services the film well enough and makes way for it to deliver some great action and CG eye-candy. And in turn, those elements lend to some of the best 3D to hit to silver screen in a long time. If you love good 3D, you've love what Ready Player One has to offer. Sure, the 3D might not be as impressive in the real world as in the OASIS. But because of the scenes that are in the OASIS, you have good reason to give your 3D Blu-ray collection some extra room for Ready Player One.




DID YOU LIKE "READY PLAYER ONE" IN 3D

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