Ready Player One - The Perfect Nerd Movie... or Is It?

Ready Player One is a movie that has all the elements needed to be an awesome nerd flick.  It’s directed by Steven Spielberg, who brought us classics like E.T. and Raiders of the Lost Ark.  Much of the movie is set in a virtual video game world.  There are references to a ton of cult classic movies, video games from all eras, and the best sci fi TV shows.  There was even a Gundam, which is from my favorite anime of all time (because, giant robots!).  And that’s just scratching the surface.  I’m positive there were a ton of things that I missed.

I’ve been a self-proclaimed nerd all my life.  I appreciate Star Trek and Star Wars, super heroes and elves, video games and anime.  Given all of this, you would think that Ready Player One is a movie I would be totally crazy about.  But somehow it didn’t appeal to me as much as it should have.  I’ve been trying to identify why that is ever since the film ended.  Here’s what I’ve come up with.

First, it felt like it was trying just a little bit too hard to be as nerdy as it possibly could be.  The more obscure and old the reference, the better.  There were a few that I really enjoyed—the Gundam mentioned above, Serenity from “Firefly”, and a couple Star Trek nods.  Aside from those, most of the references were to cult classic horror movies, few of which I have seen or enjoyed.

Second, the virtual world depicted didn’t really appeal to me.  There didn’t seem to be discrete video games, just mash-ups of a whole bunch of them.    Everything was player versus player, a popular mode of game play, but not one that I like in the slightest.  There also didn’t seem to be anything new, as if creators gave up making original games this year and the industry shifted focus exclusively to the development of hardware.

Third, none of the main characters were at all socially awkward.  Their flaws were superficial.  As a nerd myself and knowing others of my ilk, that is not my experience.  There also seems to be a stereotype that gamer girls are Goths that was perpetuated in Ready Player One.  All the truly nerdy characters worked for the big bad guy corporation, so were bad guys by association.  There was one exception, but while he was an important character, I wouldn’t classify him as a main character.

Finally, I wondered how the real world functioned in this version of the near future.  A major premise of the film was that everyone gamed to one degree or another.  Were most jobs automated?  Was child neglect a major societal issue for the entire human race?

That’s not to say that everything was disappointing.  One of the things I was worried about going into this movie was the possibility of a heavy handed political commentary.  I was pleasantly surprised that there wasn’t one.  Granted, unless it’s heavy handed, I tend to miss it.  The clearest message that got through to me was that big business is evil and the heroes are independent little guys—which could be a political message these days, I suppose.

The quality of the special effects was about par for the current course.  The CGI was visually appealing, but not truly ground breaking.  Maybe the most impressive part of the special effects how smoothly the many different styles of avatar characters interacted with each other.

In summary, I think my problem with the movie is that it felt like it was made by people who are outsiders looking in on a culture that they’ve never truly experienced.  They tell a story that’s based on what they’ve studied academically rather than practically.  All the necessary elements were present, but they were put together haphazardly and without true understanding.  The movie is based on a book which I’ve never read, so I don’t know how much was the fault of the movie makers and how much should be laid at the feet of the author.  What I do know is that I was disappointed by the result.  Maybe someone who doesn’t self-identify as a nerd would enjoy it more.