The Film (3.5/5)

   Ready Player One is the latest film by Steven Spielberg, and adapted from the novel by Ernest Cline. The movie takes place in world that has declined to such a degree that poverty is the new normal, and very few people are in positions of wealth. Mostly everyone now lives their lives in "The OASIS" a virtual reality world where anything is possible. The OASIS was created by the Steve Jobs/Steve Wozniak-esque team of James Halliday and Ogden Morrow.  When Halliday dies 5 years before the start of the film, he leaves his company to the person who can find 3 mysterious keys within the virtual realm.

    Unfortunately, in the 5 years since his passing no one could find them. Ready Player One  follows Wade and his crew "High Five" as they search out the 3 keys, using information from Halliday's life. They are, however, being blocked in the virtual and real world at every turn by Nolan Sorrento and his company IOI who want to take over the OASIS for their own corporate purposes.

    I did not expect to like Ready Player One. The trailers made the film look like 80's nostalgia CGI-vomited all over the cinema screen. However, after the first act which plunges the viewer into the nostalgia, pop-culture crazed world of the OASIS, the story of Wade's search for the keys picks up, and  the story really grabs hold.

    The world building of the first act which shows a world that feels like an advancement of our own society, plunged further into financial imbalance, and more obsessed with popular culture than it is now ends up being a social satire the likes of which I cannot recall seeing from Spielberg previously. It is like he is taking our current political climate, head on, and using the template of Cline's novel to do so.  In many ways Ready Player One is Steven Spielberg's version of John Carpenter's They Live.

Audio/Video (5/5)

    Ready Player One is presented in a 2:39:1 1080p AVC encoded format preserving the OAR of the original theatrical presentation. Everything here looks quite excellent with excellent color reproduction, deep blacks, and excellent detail.

    Audio is handled by a True HD 7.1 track in English. Everything here sounds clean, crisp, and well balanced all the way through.

Extras (3/5)

    Multiple featurettes going into the making of the movie, the background for the references, and a featurette in regards to the premiere.

Overall

    I did not expect to like Ready Player One, and came out enjoying it. The Blu-ray looks and sounds quite excellent, and has a decent extras slate. RECOMMENDED.