--- title: "Ready Player One" year: 2018 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/ready-player-one" fi1m_id: "ready-player-one" imdb_id: "tt1677720" tmdb_id: 333339 wikidata_id: "Q22000542" fi1m_score: 60 critics_score: 63 critics_reviews: 34 published: "2026-09-24T20:43:14.525207+00:00" updated: "2026-09-24T20:43:15.119757+00:00" region: "MX" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Ready Player One (2018) Directed by Steven Spielberg · 2h 20m · RTC A · Adventure, Action, Science Fiction ## Identity Ready Player One - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/ready-player-one - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** ready-player-one - **IMDb ID:** tt1677720 - **TMDB ID:** 333339 - **Wikidata ID:** Q22000542 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1677720/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/333339, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q22000542 **Fi1m score: 60** · Critics 63 from 34 reviews *In a sentence:* Spielberg empties every toy box of the last forty years onto the floor and asks us to feel something > Spielberg’s adaptation of Ernest Cline’s novel is built with extraordinary skill and runs on other people’s inventions. The virtual races and raids are as good as anything he has staged in years; the human beings in front of them barely register. ## Synopsis Columbus, Ohio, 2045. Wade (Tye Sheridan) lives in the Stacks, a slum of trailers piled on scaffolding, with his aunt Alice (Susan Lynch) and her boyfriend Rick (Ralph Ineson), and passes every waking hour in the OASIS, a virtual world where most of humanity spends its days. Its creator, Halliday (Mark Rylance), has died and left a contest: three keys hidden in the game, and whoever finds them inherits the OASIS and his fortune. Five years on, nobody has found the first. Wade, as his avatar Parzival, hunts with his friend Aech (Lena Waithe) and the racer Art3mis (Olivia Cooke), while Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn) of the corporation IOI sends hired players to win it for the shareholders. The first challenge is a race through a virtual New York. ## Review Steven Spielberg has adapted Ernest Cline’s novel about a treasure hunt inside a video game, and he has made two films with it. The one set inside the OASIS, the virtual world where most of humanity spends its days in 2045, is as fast and as cleverly staged as anything he has directed in years. The one set outside it, in a Columbus, Ohio slum of stacked trailers, is thin and hurried, and its people never quite convince. The first film keeps interrupting itself to tell us to log off and go outside, which is an odd message for 140 minutes of spectacle to carry. The race is the best of it. The first of Halliday’s three challenges sends every avatar in the game hurtling through a virtual New York in cars borrowed from forty years of films and cartoons, while the road folds up ahead of them and King Kong waits near the finish. Janusz Kamiński’s camera goes wherever it likes, under the wheels and through the windscreens, and Michael Kahn and Sarah Broshar cut it so that we always know where Parzival is and what he is about to hit. We grinned through the whole of it. Adam Stockhausen builds the real Columbus as rust and scaffolding, a leaning trailer on every level and a dish on every trailer, and IOI’s headquarters as the kind of glass box where nobody has a plant. Kasia Walicka Maimone puts the players in scuffed haptic suits and visors that make them look faintly silly, which is honest of her. Alan Silvestri’s score brings in the brass at every gate and every key, and it is well played and never once surprised us. The other stretch worth the ticket takes the hunt into the corridors of [*The Shining*](https://film.one/film/the-shining), rebuilt room by room so that Wade’s friends can wander Kubrick’s hotel while the one who has never seen the film keeps opening the wrong doors. It is witty about horror in a way the rest of the picture is never witty about anything. It is the only time a reference is used to make a joke. The people are the trouble. Tye Sheridan is pleasant and mostly blank as Wade, and the script by Zak Penn and Cline gives him a voiceover to explain his feelings because the face is not going to. Olivia Cooke is sharper as Samantha than the film lets her be as Art3mis, and Lena Waithe’s Aech is the friend you would want at your side in any raid. Ben Mendelsohn plays Sorrento as a middle manager who has skimmed a pamphlet on villainy, and he is the funniest thing outside the game. Mark Rylance’s Halliday, glimpsed in old recordings and mumbling at his shoes, is the only person in the film who seems to have an inner life. Simon Pegg turns up as Halliday’s old partner and is given little to do. Then there are the references, hundreds of them, the Iron Giant and the DeLorean and a Chucky doll, arriving so fast that recognising them becomes the film’s idea of pleasure. Nothing in the OASIS is new. Its treasure is other people’s property, and the film’s affection for it never turns into a thought about it. Somewhere in the last forty minutes we noticed we were tired, and that the sight of a thousand borrowed characters charging across a field was not thrilling us at all. It looked like an inventory. That is a strange feeling to have at a Spielberg film, and we did not enjoy it. He used to do this with one thing. [*E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial*](https://film.one/film/e-t-the-extra-terrestrial) (1982) has a boy and a creature in a cupboard. [*Jurassic Park*](https://film.one/film/jurassic-park) (1993) makes us wait an hour for the dinosaur and then shows us a glass of water trembling on a dashboard. Here the wonder is meant to come from quantity, and nobody has ever wept at a quantity. See it large if you can, for the race and the hotel, and do not expect to remember anyone’s name afterwards. At home the final battle becomes a smear and the quiet scenes get quieter, which does them no favours. It runs 140 minutes and carries a 12A. *Fi1m score 60, published 24 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics come down on the film’s side, though not by much. The praise clusters on Spielberg’s staging of the virtual-world set pieces: the New York race in the first act and an extended sequence built inside The Shining are named again and again as the high points. The effects, the pace and the sheer density of pop-culture references are widely admired, and several reviewers find the old Spielberg sweetness still working underneath the noise. The reservations gather around the real world. Many find the scenes outside the Oasis flat and the romance thin, and several say the film peaks early and runs long. The larger argument is over whether the nostalgia means anything: some read the film as a knowing critique of fan culture, others as an exhausting celebration of it. The spread is wide, from outright raves at Digital Spy and Deadline to flat dismissals at IndieWire and The Wrap, with Sight and Sound and The New Yorker also among the coolest. ## Straight answers **Is Ready Player One worth watching?** *Ready Player One* is worth watching for the virtual race and the *Shining* sequence, which are as well staged as anything Spielberg has directed in years, and we scored it 60. The people outside the game barely register, and by the last forty minutes the hundreds of borrowed characters start to look like an inventory. See it large if you can. **How long is Ready Player One, and what is it rated?** *Ready Player One* runs 2h 20m and is rated A by the RTC in Mexico. It is an adventure and action film. **Where can I watch Ready Player One in Mexico?** *Ready Player One* is streaming on HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video in Mexico, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV from MX$20.00. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How violent or frightening is Ready Player One, and is it suitable for children?** *Ready Player One* carries a 12A and its action is mostly virtual: avatars crashing cars and fighting in a video game rather than people being hurt. The one stretch likely to unsettle younger children rebuilds the corridors of *The Shining*, and it is played for jokes rather than terror. Older children and teenagers should be fine; the squeamish have little to fear. **How does Ready Player One compare to Scott Pilgrim vs. the World?** *Ready Player One* and [*Scott Pilgrim vs. the World*](https://film.one/film/scott-pilgrim-vs-the-world) both turn a young man's life into a video game, but Wright's film is the sharper and funnier of the two. Spielberg stages bigger spectacle and uses his hundreds of references mainly to be recognised; Wright uses his to make jokes and keeps his people in focus. Choose Spielberg for scale, Wright for wit. **Is Ready Player One based on a true story or a book?** *Ready Player One* is not a true story; it is adapted from Ernest Cline's novel about a treasure hunt inside a virtual world, with Cline co-writing the script alongside Zak Penn. The film keeps the contest, the slum of stacked trailers and the corporate villain, and you need not know the book to follow it. Knowing the films and games it borrows from helps more. ### Reviews we read (34) - **Empire**, Jonathan Pile (85/100, inferred): Pile gives the film a strongly positive verdict, calling it an uncynical cinematic ride. He especially praises Spielberg’s ability to balance the pop-culture references with engaging characters and story. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/ready-player-one-review/) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, THR Staff (85/100, inferred): The critic finds the adaptation a rollicking, successful adventure that preserves the novel’s spirit and thrills. They praise its balance of live action and CGI, especially the inventive virtual-world set pieces. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/ready-player-one-review-1093639/) - **Evening Standard**, Matthew Norman (4/5): Norman finds the film an exhaustingly entertaining spectacle, despite its hollowness and thin emotional dimension. He praises its exhilarating visuals, constant gags and especially the recreated Shining sequence. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/going-out/ready-player-one-review-back-to-the-future-for-the-pop-culture-mash-up-of-the-century-a3802116.html) - **The i Paper**, Matthew Turner (★★★★): Turner finds the film a spectacular, enjoyable rush that celebrates pop-culture nostalgia while imagining the future of VR gaming. He particularly praises the imaginative Shining sequence, while noting that the real-world scenes lack emotional impact. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/ready-player-one-review-136697) - **Total Film**, Jamie Graham (4/5): The critic finds the film an exuberant, spectacular return to popcorn filmmaking, though it runs too long. They especially praise one extended scene as exceptionally entertaining. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/ready-player-one-review/) - **The AV Club**, A.A. Dowd (B): Dowd finds the film a flawed but highly enjoyable spectacle, praising Spielberg’s technical command and personal touch. He criticizes its relentless references and failure to interrogate the fan culture it celebrates. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/steven-spielberg-finds-fun-and-maybe-even-a-soul-in-the-1824094654) - **Los Angeles Times**, Kenneth Turan (76/100, inferred): Turan finds the film an excellent adventure, where old-fashioned Spielberg sweetness ultimately overcomes its complicated plot and busy visuals. He singles out Wade and Art3mis’s romance as the emotional glue that keeps the film engaging. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-ready-player-one-review-20180328-story.html) - **Radio Times**, Victoria Luxford (65/100, inferred): The review suggests the film is enjoyable but falls short of classic status. It praises the sense of wonder and video-game thrills, while faulting the story for being too slight. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/ready-player-one-review-evokes-a-sense-of-wonder-but-its-no-classic/) - **The New York Times**, A. O. Scott (65/100, inferred): The review finds the film an entertaining, nostalgia-driven spectacle, though its affection for pop-culture references can overwhelm it. It praises Spielberg’s visual energy and skill at staging the adventure. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/28/movies/ready-player-one-review-steven-spielberg.html) - **Vulture**, David Edelstein (65/100, inferred): Edelstein finds the film lively and agreeable, but ultimately not great. He praises its clean storytelling and crisp, economical action while faulting its filtered, secondhand feel. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2018/03/ready-player-one-review.html) - **RogerEbert.com** (64/100, inferred): The URL identifies a festival review of the specified film, but the page content is blocked. The critic’s verdict and any specific praise or complaint cannot be verified. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/festivals/sxsw-film-festival-2018-ready-player-one) - **Screen Daily**, Fionnuala Halligan (64/100, inferred): The accessible page does not reveal the critic’s verdict. Its standfirst frames the film as a YA gamer dystopia looking back to the future. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/ready-player-one-review/5127510.article) - **Slant Magazine**, Eric Henderson (2.5/4): Henderson finds the film both a fitting expression of Spielberg’s escapist style and a troublingly self-conscious work about fan culture. He praises its bold critique of corporate control and the way its spectacle turns the Oasis into a seductive horror show. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/ready-player-one/) - **Little White Lies**, David Jenkins (4/3/2): Jenkins finds the film underwhelming, arguing that spectacle cannot overcome its weak, corny treasure-hunt plot. He praises one sequence for briefly capturing Spielberg’s trademark sense of awe. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/ready-player-one) - **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (3/5): Bradshaw finds the film spectacular but increasingly muddled, with its first act providing most of its energy. He praises the sensational New York race sequence and the film’s extraordinary visuals, while questioning its weightless VR world and fixation on 70s and 80s culture. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/mar/28/ready-player-one-review-steven-spielberg-tye-sheridan-mark-rylance) - **Time Out**, Phil de Semlyen (3/5): The critic finds the film mixed overall. The pop-culture-heavy source material is described as having a derivative plot. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/ready-player-one) - **Film Comment**, Jonathan Romney (55/100, inferred): Romney finds the film’s referential energy appealing but its overall message unconvincing. He singles out its packed pop-culture references for praise, while faulting the final message. [Read](https://www.filmcomment.com/film-week-ready-player-one/) - **Variety**, Owen Gleiberman (45/100, inferred): Gleiberman finds the film visually entrancing but emotionally thin, leaving viewers more occupied than invested. He praises the spellbinding pop-culture spectacle while faulting the banal reality and arbitrary-feeling plot mechanics. [Read](https://variety.com/2018/film/reviews/ready-player-one-review-steven-spielberg-1202723649/) - **Sight and Sound**, Pamela Hutchinson (35/100, inferred): Hutchinson finds the film’s nostalgia-driven spectacle ultimately shallow and exhausting, despite its awareness of geek culture’s darker implications. She praises the eye-catching New York race sequence, while noting that the rest of the imagery is often more unsettling than exciting. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/ready-player-one-review-spielbergs-vr-throwback) - **The New Yorker**, Anthony Lane (30/100, inferred): Lane finds the film overloaded with pop-culture references and emotionally thin, ultimately judging its tears unearned. He singles out its feverish pace and sensory detail as contributing to that lack of emotional force. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/04/09/ready-player-one-and-lean-on-pete) - **IndieWire**, David Ehrlich (25/100, inferred): Ehrlich finds the film dull and inert, while reading it as a troubling critique of blockbuster culture. He praises its lucid account of how franchise references and fan service can crowd out originality. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/ready-player-one-steven-spielberg-death-of-movies-1201948519/) - **Deadline**, Pete Hammond (90/100, inferred): Hammond finds the film an exhilarating, dazzling pop-culture adventure and says it knocks the material out of the park. He praises the production values and singles out the sequence set inside The Shining as especially brilliant. [Read](https://deadline.com/2018/03/ready-player-one-review-steven-spielberg-tye-sheridan-virtual-reality-1202354503/) - **Digital Spy**, Rosie Fletcher (90/100, inferred): The critic calls it Spielberg’s best film in ages and a heart-swelling, engaging adventure. The cast, especially Mark Rylance, is singled out for bringing warmth and emotion to the story. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a852466/ready-player-one-review-spielberg/) - **Den of Geek**, David Crow (4/5): Crow calls it a supremely entertaining crowd-pleaser, praising Spielberg’s classic touch and the film’s imaginative spectacle. He notes that the exposition-heavy opening struggles to deliver its world-building, but says the cast’s sincerity gives the climax emotional weight. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/ready-player-one-review/) - **The Skinny**, Jamie Dunn (★★★★): Dunn calls the film a blast, praising Spielberg’s eye-popping action and goofy humour. He faults its relentless pace for leaving too little downtime with the characters. [Read](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/ready-player-one) - **Paste**, Will Leitch (B): Leitch finds the film silly and overlong but ultimately a fun, distinctive Spielberg ride. He especially praises Spielberg’s kinetic direction and the playful, emotionally resonant pop-culture references. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/ready-player-one/ready-player-one) - **Collider**, Collider Video (75/100, inferred): The hosts give the film an overwhelmingly positive response. They praise Spielberg’s immersive visual world and the cast bringing it to life. [Read](https://collider.com/ready-player-one-review-video/) - **Polygon**, Ross Miller (75/100, inferred): Miller finds the film a colorful, frenetic spectacle that succeeds as entertainment, though its real-world storyline feels less convincing. He particularly praises the imaginative, detailed virtual world and how its pop-culture references create atmosphere rather than burden the story. [Read](https://www.polygon.com/2018/3/22/17152394/ready-player-one-review-movie-steven-spielberg/) - **/Film**, Joi Childs (7/10): Childs finds the film a fun, escapist adventure despite its uneven script and overlong third act. She praises its vivid visuals and energetic direction, while criticizing the shallow use of nostalgia. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/556834/ready-player-one-review/) - **Eye for Film**, Jane Fae (65/100, inferred): Fae likes the film but feels it never rises above the standard quest formula, and finds its ending confused. She praises its diverse cast of heroes and the CGI, while noting that the biggest visual spectacle arrives early. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/ready-player-one-2018-film-review-by-jane-fae) - **Consequence**, Dan Caffrey (45/100, inferred): Caffrey finds the film thrilling as spectacle but underdeveloped as a drama, leaving its message about balancing virtual and actual reality unearned. He praises the imaginative world-building and exuberant set pieces, especially the pop-culture mashups. [Read](https://consequence.net/2018/03/film-review-ready-player-one-cares-more-about-virtual-reality-than-actual-reality/) - **NME** (40/100, inferred): The critic finds the film briefly entertaining but ultimately hollow and unlikely to reward repeat viewings. The elaborate pop-culture action set-pieces are singled out as a source of nerdy fun. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/ready-player-one-film-review-2270000) - **The Ringer**, K. Austin Collins (35/100, inferred): The critic finds the film overbearing and ultimately only fine, despite its flashes of excitement. Spielberg’s lively action set pieces stand out, but the relentless nostalgia overwhelms the movie’s more thoughtful ideas. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2018/03/29/movies/ready-player-one-film-review-steven-spielberg-tye-sheridan) - **The Wrap** (25/100, inferred): The critic finds the film an overstuffed, ultimately tedious experiment rather than a successful story. They fault its muddy, hyperactive presentation of pop-culture references, though they praise occasional moments of craft and the leads’ chemistry. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/ready-player-one-film-review-steven-spielberg/) ## Details - **Director:** Steven Spielberg - **Director:** Steven Spielberg - **Screenplay:** Ernest Cline, Zak Penn - **Novel:** Ernest Cline - **Cinematography:** Janusz Kamiński - **Editor:** Michael Kahn, Sarah Broshar - **Music:** Alan Silvestri - **Production design:** Adam Stockhausen - **Costume design:** Kasia Walicka Maimone - **Producer:** Kristie Macosko Krieger, Donald De Line, Dan Farah - **Cast:** Tye Sheridan as Parzival / Wade; Olivia Cooke as Art3mis / Samantha; Ben Mendelsohn as Sorrento; Lena Waithe as Aech / Helen; T.J. Miller as I-R0k (voice); Simon Pegg as Curator / Ogden Morrow; Mark Rylance as Anorak / Halliday; Philip Zhao as Sho - **Runtime:** 2h 20m - **Certificate (RTC):** A - **Release (Mexico):** 30 March 2018 - **Genres:** Adventure, Action, Science Fiction - **Budget:** $175 million - **Box office:** $607 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hrwbc5qCZ4 ## Where to watch in Mexico - HBO Max: streaming, uhd - Amazon Prime Video: add-on, uhd - Amazon Prime Video: rent MX$20.00, uhd - Apple TV: rent MX$50.00, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy MX$169.00, uhd - Apple TV: buy MX$169.00, hd *Checked 2026-09-24.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *Tron* (1982): The original trip inside the machine, and it still looks like nothing else. - *Summer Wars* (2009): A Japanese family, a virtual world in crisis, and far more heart than this. - *Speed Racer* (2008): The Wachowskis’ candy-coloured race film, derided at the time and better than it looked. - *Scott Pilgrim vs. the World* (2010), Fi1m 81: Edgar Wright turns a boy’s love life into a video game and keeps the jokes. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/scott-pilgrim-vs-the-world.md) - *eXistenZ* (1999): Cronenberg’s game-pod thriller, for anyone who wants the OASIS with a body horror chill. --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/ready-player-one