Spielberg takes the concept of an Easter egg hunt to the next level.

Steven Spielberg with a smile on his face and an adventure in his heart is a wondrous thing. With perhaps the longest and most diverse filmography in Hollywood, Spielberg has taken us everywhere. From Isla Nublar to the beaches of Normandy via Neverland; he’s whisked us away to a wide array of locations, however, it’s the emotional journey that’s been the most extensive.

Simultaneously personal and universal; Spielberg is an auteur to the core, yet his approach to storytelling has always been with one eye on the audience. As a director of the people, Spielberg has constantly straddled that thin line between populist and artist; as classics like Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jaws, and E.T. all played to the crowd, while showcasing the director’s undoubted filmmaking prowess.

However, somewhere in the mix, things got personal. As Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan got the ball rolling, the subsequent years saw the director take a far more intimate and far less showy approach to his career.

As things became increasingly sombre for the director, hints at more carefree times have sprung up here and there, however, his scattergun approach to projects has made it incredibly difficult to pin down the Spielberg we once knew. Rolling back the years, Ready Player One sees Spielberg regain that limitless sense of adventure once again; giving us a hint, if only temporary, of the fun-loving filmmaker of days past.

In the year 2045, the world is a desolate and unforgiving place. With overpopulation, pollution, corruption, and climate change forcing everyone into slum-like cities; the only place for Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) to truly escape is through the virtual reality world of the OASIS. Created by eccentric genius, James Halliday (Mark Rylance), the OASIS houses many secrets, the holy grail of which is a three-part contest designed by Halliday himself to find a worthy heir. As Wade solves the first clue, it sets him and his friends on a reality-bending treasure hunt of discovery and into the path of those that’ll stop at nothing for total control of the OASIS and, thus, the world.

Ebbing and flowing like a shapeless blob, pop culture is a tricky concept to grasp in any tangible way. Twitching and shifting erratically as tastes and social demographics change, what constitutes popular culture at any given moment in time can be a difficult thing to comprehend. Capturing this essence on film coherently is, therefore, incredibly challenging, with failure running the risk of making you look desperate.

While its methods may not be the subtlest, what Ready Player One gets right is it’s complete and utter reverence to the fabric of pop culture; presenting itself, first and foremost, as a fan. And with intentions that pure, it’s hard not to just sit back and appreciate what the film has to offer.

With a deep and devoted appreciation for fandom and what makes it tick, Ready Player One is a film adaptation only Steven Spielberg could pull off. The film is a dizzying onslaught of movie, video game, music, and literary references that stretch well beyond the realms of human comprehension; which, on the surface, feel like a corporate exercise in squeezing every nostalgia-hungry penny from its audience, yet the result is far from that.

As icons from pop culture past and present scorch across the screen like a DeLorean pushing 88mph, it’s a rather bewildering experience attempting to soak it all in, however, the sensory overload should satisfy the nostalgic geek in many of us.

The book’s unbounded worship of popular culture was always going to be a hard nut to crack, as the sheer depth of references would’ve undoubtedly sent the Warner Bros. legal department into meltdown if adapted verbatim; yet, despite some inevitable narrative tweaks, the heart of Ernest Cline’s novel is kept largely intact.

What begins as a trickle of seemingly random references, done for no real reason other than to look cool, quickly blooms into something far smarter and increasingly integral to the plot. As the quest unravels and Halliday’s puzzles open up the OASIS in all its glory, it’s clear Spielberg isn’t in this to coast on a wave of nostalgia, but to truly engage with it.

Of course, your tolerance to this level of nostalgic self-indulgence will largely dictate your reception of Ready Player One. There’s no hiding from the fact that the film’s approach is rather heavy-handed and its in-your-face methods will no doubt be divisive; yet, while not everything lands, the primal joys inherent in hoovering up all the Easter eggs on offer are hard to resist. Even if the resultant sugar rush sees you crashing soon after the credits roll.

In the hands of any other director, Ready Player One would likely end up a completely different film and probably not in a good way. From Stranger Things to It; the current wave of 80s and 90s nostalgia makes the optics on Ready Player One look decidedly like a corporate cash-grab and, through the lens of a lesser director, this seemingly cynical approach would likely crash and burn.

Add in a drop of Spielberg magic, however, and you’ve got yourself something pretty special. A master of knowing the audience, Steven Spielberg has always possessed a crowd’s-eye view of his movies and it’s through this approach that the director balances the deluge of references, nods, and shiny, golden Easter eggs with such composure.

We all know Spielberg. Many of us grew up with his films indelibly imprinted on our childhood. Though they weren’t all hits, every one of his movies knew exactly what they were, what they were there to achieve, and how best to service their audience (for this purpose, I’m going to conveniently pretend Kingdom of the Crystal Skull doesn’t exist). To this end, the director knows just what he wants to accomplish with Ready Player One; ensuring every minute Easter egg deployment is done with intention, meaning, and absolute precision.

Ultimately though, it’s just good to have fun Spielberg back in the picture. Putting The BFG to one side for a moment, Spielberg’s offerings since 2011’s War Horse have been decidedly sterner than earlier efforts, but with a sense of action and adventure that we haven’t seen since the days of Catch Me If You Can and Minority Report; Ready Player One feels like Steven Spielberg back in the groove once again.

From the carefree, courageous tone, to the classic Alan Silvestri score; Ready Player One looks, sounds, and feels like the Spielberg every 80s and 90s kid grew up with. And, while he’ll almost certainly switch gears once again for his next outing, let’s not pretend having Steven Spielberg back to his adventurous best, at least temporarily, isn’t something to celebrate.

As a concept that feels both far-fetched and strikingly close to the bone, the film’s integration of virtual reality is fascinating; adding a suitably wide canvas to Ready Player One’s action, yet it’s not always easy viewing. In no time at all, we’re thrown headfirst into the mind-bending, nostalgia-fuelled world of the OASIS; and the overtly CGI characters, landscapes, and physics certainly take some acclimatising to.

Clearly, plausibility was never Spielberg’s aim while transferring the OASIS from page to screen and, naturally, the VR environment was always going to appear very video-gamey. However, at times, it does all feel like watching someone play Call of Duty from a sofa on the far side of your living room, with the resultant viewing experience feeling inevitably distant.

Thankfully, this effect is temporary and, as your brain becomes acclimatised, things finally feel more natural. The care and attention given to bringing the OASIS to life so organically is commendable and speaks to the commitment of everyone involved in making the entire world work for the audience. It also helps that the OASIS feels not a million miles away from where humanity stands right now.

Like all good Steven Spielberg films, there are some pertinent societal messages wrapped up in all the adventure. While an entertainer first and foremost; even at peak-blockbuster, Spielberg has never been afraid to slip a little social commentary in there, and Ready Player One feels as on-point as anything he’s ever done.

The pros and cons of a virtual reality lifestyle are there loud and clear and, while the end message is a little too simplistic in execution, it’s no less thought-provoking; as the pleasures and dangers of a limitless imagined world that simultaneously brings us together while pulling us apart, are brought into sharp focus.

People escaping desolate real-world situations, the comfort of nostalgia, the never-ending pursuit of reward, and ruthless corporations that will happily exploit all of the above for their own end; Ready Player One feels all-too real, despite its fantastical situations, adding up to one of the most accurate-feeling cinematic depictions of the future ever.

The world outside the OASIS may be presented as dystopic, yet it feels surprisingly mundane. Sure, living in a huge stack of beat-up trailers, in a world clearly caught up in all kinds of crises, doesn’t look like fun; however, neither does it look too horrific or farfetched. It merely feels like a very real extrapolation of our current situation, and it’s this plausibility that makes Ready Player One so resonant.

As the foundation for its towering mountain of Easter eggs, Ready Player One’s plot does a decent job of holding everything together, even as it threatens to veer off into complete self-indulgence. Utilising some neat, cleverly thought-out puzzle solving mechanics; the story is engaging and fun throughout, yet it never feels entirely original, as plot beats become increasingly easy to telegraph and that patented Spielberg soft ending arrives with all the subtly of a Holy Hand Grenade.

With all the hubbub swirling around them, the actors inevitably take a back seat as they fight for screen time amidst the constant stream of references; however, led by the burgeoning talent of Tye Sheridan, Ready Player One’s young cast do their best to cut through all the noise.

With the onscreen chemistry of Sheridan and Olivia Cooke adding ample heart to proceedings, the duo may lack the razzmatazz of their environment, however, they do a perfectly adequate job of pulling us in emotionally and leading us through the unfolding adventure.

Elsewhere, Ben Mendelsohn clocks in with another classic villain to add to his growing collection. Cartoonish and one-dimensional though he may be, Nolan Sorrento is great fun nonetheless and ticks all the right nefarious boxes for a film such as this. Every Hollywood generation has their go-to bad guy and Mendelsohn appears to serve that purpose right now; and, as adept an actor as he is, with villain roles on the horizon, he’ll have to watch out for typecasting.

Existing outside the realms of typecasting, however, is Mark Rylance as he once again puts in a standout performance. Channelling his inner Garth from Wayne’s World, Rylance’s role as James Halliday sits at the very heart of Ready Player One and, as both god-like hero and ultimate villain of the piece, the character is an endearingly awkward and oddly charismatic presence throughout.

Ultimately though, characters blend into the background as Ready Player One leans heavily on its visuals to get by. The world of the OASIS is vast and impressive as it rolls out in a million different directions before our eyes, however, the inherently virtual nature of the environment leaves things feeling a little emotionally loose.

Though more toned down than the pop and fizz of OASIS, the real world lands with far more impact, as the subtler visuals feel much more engaging. From the grungy stacks and decaying alleyways, to the blocks upon blocks of IOI debt cells; Ready Player One’s reality feels both pleasantly retro and intriguingly futuristic, helping to anchor the film as it continuously threatens to float away in a bubble of nostalgic self-satisfaction.

As a piece of unadulterated nostalgia-driven cinema; Ready Player One makes no bones about what it is. Under the masterful hand of Steven Spielberg, the film makes the most of its environment to deliver a dizzying experience full of heart. Back to his adventurous best, it feels good to see Spielberg with a smile on his face once again, as he offers up a pop culture feast that, while occasionally overwhelming, feels like the director back to his fun-loving best. As the master of audience-led filmmaking, Spielberg knows what the crowds want and Ready Player One’s timing couldn’t be more perfect, as it rides the current trend for 80s and 90s pop culture nostalgia, while incorporating a VR concept that feels both futuristic and contemporary. As we move ever closer to the OASIS becoming a full-blown reality, Ready Player One’s cautionary message, though heavy-handed, appears hauntingly on-point.