Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

Ready Player One 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Get Ready for Player One in 4K.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 24, 2018

Steven Spielberg is one of only a few filmmakers who could make Ready Player One and actually make it mean something, to extract so much humanity from a film about a battle for control of a virtual space where people have gone to escape the hard-luck realities of a sunken humanity. The film, which is based on a book of the same name by author Ernest Cline, is about a boy taking on a well-funded conglomerate for ownership of the world's most profitable enterprise, which only exists in the digital space. It's a film about who wants it more but also who loves it more, who understands it more, who makes and feels a connection with it not through the eyes but rather through the heart; it boils down to who finds themselves inside of it. A near perfect balance of digital extravagance and honest character exploration, Ready Player One is partially a cautionary tale but mostly a touching tribute to the essence of humanity in an increasingly artificial, distant, cold, and make-believe world.

He is the Keymaster...where -- or who -- is the Gatekeeper?

In the near future, poverty has risen and OASIS is the only escape. It's a virtual reality paradise where anything can happen and anything goes. People can be what they want and have what they want inside, usually by paying what little real money they have for a digital luxury. When one of the company's co-founders, James Halliday (Mark Rylance), dies, he leaves his company in limbo, willing it to any player who can solve three puzzles and collect three keys and collect the "Easter egg" he las left behind to earn the right to take control of the company, which is worth an obscene amount of money. Users from around the world compete to reach the first key but after five years none have succeeded. The game's leaderboard remains a blank slate and only a few dedicated fortune hunters, known as "Gunters," remain active in the pursuit. One of them is Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan), better known by his online avatar "Parzival." He's not just a player but also a student of the life Halliday lived, which he believes will ultimately lead him to a clue on how to retrieve the first key. He's helped by his best friend "Aech" (Lena Waithe) and a mysterious but popular online persona known as "Art3mis" (Olivia Cooke). But standing in their way is IOI, a well-funded enterprise bent on cracking Halliday's code at any price. It's headed by the nefarious CEO Nolan Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn) who begins pursuing Parzival and his friends when it becomes apparent they are close to solving Halliday's riddles.

Ready Player One is Spielberg's most visually ambitious and digitally reliant picture yet. He is certainly no stranger to effects-driven films, whether practical in Jaws or groundbreaking digital in Jurassic Park or seamlessly integrated out-of-this-world in War of the Worlds. But this film goes much further than any of those with heavy integration of motion capture technology as well as digital environmental constructs, a technique Robert Zemeckis, whose name and films are prominent fixtures throughout Ready Player One, brought to the mainstream with films like The Polar Express and Beowulf. The effects are seamless, and they are chaotic. They're abundantly colorful, offering a dazzling array of prominent hues that contrast to the somewhat gray and bleak "real world" that has all but been lost to the make believe. And there's a level of creative freedom here that has heretofore been unavailable to filmmakers and digital artists if only because other movies were not conducive to the most wild and extreme imaginings; the opportunity for OASIS users to choose their own avatars, select their own vehicles, or populate any world where anything is possible means ultimate freedom in pushing boundaries and opening eyes to the possibilities that really exist in today's digital entertainment. It's almost ironic, though, that a movie that is partially a cautionary tale but also so attuned to the human condition -- or what remains of it in the film's world, anyway -- would feature such beautifully prominent digital constructs, but whether there's anything to that is up to the viewer to decide. It does say two things, though: the future of moviemaking is here, and the future of humanity is here, too. And there's great opportunity for both so long as there's balance. If there's not, there's great opportunity to lose everything.

And that's really the film's central theme, that need for balance, for understanding, for using technology to compliment, not dominate, one's life. In the film, society has deteriorated to the point that trailer parks are built within crude high-rises, where trash is piled high outside, and the only escape is in the digital realm, which is of course more affordable, apparently, than most any of life's necessities, for it has become just that rather than a pricey luxury. And even as the film largely takes place in that digital environment, and all of the worlds that exist within it, the film's heart is found in the now non-beating heart of an elderly man, a man who grew up playing video games and absorbing pop culture, but who has come to realize how much he has truly missed in life, how much he has never had, and will never have, even as he has held just about all the money in the world in his hands. Mark Rylance's James Halliday is one of the great characters in any Spielberg film, a man whose unassuming and disheveled outward appearance reflects who he is inside: a bit broken and full of regret. He's created something wonderful and worth an unimaginable amount of money, but the film is not about his technology but rather his wounded soul. For all of the dynamic visuals, large-scale action scenes, and striking digital character renditions, Ready Player One finds its center in a socially awkward genius who is a surprisingly real person who wears his emotions, as muted as they might seem, on his sleeve, for the world to see, and to learn from, if the world can open its eyes, step away from the virtual playground, and try to find him, and itself, for just a moment.

Beyond its effects-happy extravaganza and heartfelt human connection, Ready Player One is a treasure trove of newly classic music and semi-modern popular culture references that feel entirely random in isolation but work very well in a movie about the virtual world where anyone can be anything, drive anything, have anything. Parzival drives the DeLorean from Back to the Future, and there are several instances when refrains from Alan Silvestri's score for that film can be heard in this film, particularly when a character uses something called "The Zemeckis Cube" which is a necessary virtual tool at one critical point in the movie. A scene in which the heroes must select a movie to find a clue has the feel of the scene in which Indiana Jones chooses the real Grail in The Last Crusade; it's a wonder that the Curator doesn't say something about "choosing wisely." A key sequence takes place in a digitally recreated Overlook Hotel. Minor reference to Alien, BattleStar Galactica, Terminator 2, and countless other subtle little hints and winks and nods populate the movie. But as with everything else, such asides -- many of which are more than that -- give way to the essential building blocks that truly form the narrative's core; they're all just structural pleasantries in the larger picture.

Ready Player One 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc. Watch for 4K screenshots at a later date.

Ready Player One's 4K UHD/Dolby Vision-enhanced presentation delivers a modest, but at times critical and intimate, improvement over a very visually rewarding and top-end Blu-ray release. The film was reportedly shot digitally at 2.8K with its live-action scenes captured on film, but it appears the entire film was finished at 2K. The UHD's improvements are just as often more subtle than they are striking, with special attention paid to the overall clarity of more intimate close-ups both in the real and digital worlds and the upgrade to coloring throughout. The live action segments reveal a gorgeous, often breathtaking grain structure. It's more pronounced on the UHD, not significantly, but noticeably. The presentation is very refined and the UHD brings an even greater cinematic flavor to the live action segments over the Blu-ray, which is itself very effective in that regard but not quite to the level of cinema screen excellence as seen here. Most film-based shots, scenes, and sequences find more accessible intimacy, a more stable, true-to-source clarity that allows for modest textural gains both in the form of up-close shots as well as environmental essentials, such as some of the more run-down areas of Columbus, and the trailer park in particular, both interiors and exteriors alike. The digital world enjoys an increase in clarity, textural tightness, and sheen. Take a look at a Parzival close-up at the 26-minute mark as he prepares to test a new theory to win the race and earn the first key. The grid-like pattern on his face takes on a more tangible and substantial clarity and texturing, appearing more raised and prominent on the UHD. Viewers will note similar enhancements to clarity of presentation and visibility of complex elements throughout the OASIS segments.

The previously referenced shot is also a good example of the 12-bit Dolby Vision coloring's improvements to the SDR Blu-ray. The skin is brighter but more naturally refined, the blue eyes are more intense, and shadow details through the edges are greatly improved. The Dolby Vision coloring does not alter the movie's appearance but it does add a distinguishing stability and vitality that even the impressive Blu-ray cannot match, finding a new gear for color intensity and saturation in most every scene, whether presenting intense OASIS colors with more brilliance or refining the gray, downtrodden hues in the real world. Sorrento's avatar holds an intensely illuminated globe at the 32:33 mark, for example, which appears much brighter and more blinding on the UHD but without washing out the scene or overpowering even near-source details, like a pair of digital character faces. Look at a streaky lens flare at the 34:43 mark. The color intensity is higher; the pinks and purples leap off the screen but, again, don't interfere with the shot's focal point, a good, basic, head-and-shoulders shot of Wade which is also a good example of the UHD's improved, but not drastically so, textural integrity over the Blu-ray. Blacks are more intense but never approach crush, white levels are refined and bright, and skin tones are spot-on in the real world, at least as they reflect the often dour lighting conditions. Technical flaws are essentially nonexistent. Eagle-eyed viewers may spot the rare flub, such as aliasing on a far-distant building in the film's opening shot, but such are very few and far between. This is a top-class UHD that may not offer a massive improvement over the Blu-ray but that does present the film with appreciable refinement. This is easily the best way to watch the movie for home consumption.

Ready Player One 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Ready Player One features a mostly rousing Dolby Atmos soundtrack. The chaotic action intricacies and nuanced environmental details come to life with precision presentation. The track opens significantly, taking full advantage of the prodigious number of channels at its disposal, overhead included, in its numerous action scenes where distinctive, familiar sounds and those newly created for the film alike compete within the listening area but always present with top-flight distinction, even through chaos. Certainly some are more pronounced than others as focal points shift about but even in din there's a healthy clarity to most every sound a prominent and balance to the most intensive, stage-saturating activity. The one drawback is bass that is sometimes more muted than one would expect. An explosion in a key moment in chapter six, for example, lacks the sort of punch and intensity the scene deserves to really punctuate the devastation, while a significant battle sequence in chapter ten features a fair bit off oomph but still falls short of the sort of aggressive posturing the chaos should command. However, a major wave through the listening area in chapter 11, about 110 minutes into the movie, does find substantial depth, so the effect is not entirely widespread. Chaos reigns as the vehicle race to find the keys begins, as cars and trucks blow over and through and into one another, as motorcycles zip and zoom and weave, and choreographed sonic chaos reigns through the entire stage. Surround and top-layer activity flow generously in most every scene, whether drones buzzing about, gunfire ripping around, or supportive ambience drawing the listener into the film. Music is likewise sturdy and enjoyable, particularly as various 80s tunes dance into the listening area with impressive clarity and stage saturation. Dialogue is well pronounced, clear, and effectively prioritized and positioned in the front-center and occasional examples of reverberation are balanced and true.

Ready Player One 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Ready Player One's UHD disc contains no supplements, but the bundled Blu-ray contains all of the below extras. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase.

• The '80s: You're the Inspiration (1080p, 5:38): Ernest Cline and the film's cast and crew discuss their love for the '80s. Spielberg also briefly touches on cutting most of the references to his films.
• Game Changer: Cracking the Code (1080p, 57:22): An in-depth exploration of the entire movie, beginning with the original writing and moving on to adapting it for the screen, assembling the cast, performances, realizing The Oasis and the real world depicted in the film, costume and prop design and avatar character construction, motion capture performance work, recreating key moments from The Shining, Janusz Kamiński's cinematography, real world shooting locations, and more.
• Effects for a Brave New World (1080p, 24:39): A comprehensive exploration of the film's challenging and complex visual effects, including, most fascinatingly, Spielberg's opportunity to perform pre-visualization in virtual reality.
• Level up: Sound for the Future (1080p, 8:03): A quality examination of the film's sound design, including finding the proper tone for the sound elements, avatar voices, recreating iconic sounds, and more.
• High Score: Endgame (1080p, 10:04): This piece focuses on Alan Silvestri's work on the film's score.
• Ernie & Tye's Excellent Adventure (1080p, 12:00): Ernest Cline and Tye Sheridan sit down to discuss the film ahead of its Austin premiere.

Ready Player One 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Ready Player One may be a digital extravaganza, but it's all Spielberg and all heart. The film's superficialities deliver spectacular entertainment with endless winks and nods to popular culture, but the film's center is an unassuming and quiet old man whose regrets, and the understanding of life he gained from them, truly propel the story. This is exactly the sort of narrative depth and digital opulence that has driven PIXAR to the top of the film industry. Its only real flaw is that it's a little overlong, but there's no mistaking the film's visual grandeur and its close-knit connection to the human heart in a world where it otherwise barely exists anymore. Warner Brothers' UHD release of Ready Player One delivers high-quality 2160p/Dolby Vision video, near reference Atmos audio, and a handful of featurettes. Very highly recommended, and this is the version to choose when considering 4K or Blu-ray.