Ready Payer One, better than expected

[George Cantstandya]

I just watched Ready Player One. I put off watching it because I thought it would be another lame film based on video games to entertain kids. However I was very surprised. I really enjoyed how parts of the movie played homage to other great directors via references to films directed by Stanley Kubrick and John Hughes. The movie also tossed in a bunch of references to old video games including Atari 2600 and I even saw a ColecoVision at one point toward the end. I'm guessing a younger audience might have missed out on those references. The special effects and animations were very well done. Overall I really enjoyed it. If I could describe it I would say it is kind of a fun modern mash up of The Goonies, The Matrix, Tron, and Star Wars. Not as great as any one of those movies by any means but still entertaining. It's a fun movie that also reminded me of my age based on references to old movies and games.