Steven Spielberg’s $607M Sci-Fi Movie Trends on Prime Video, 5 Months Before He Finally Returns to the Genre

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According to FlixPatrol, which measures the popularity of titles on various streaming services, Spielberg’s Ready Player One is the ninth-most-watched movie on Prime Video in the United States. On the streamer’s top 10 chart, it’s ahead of The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

Ready Player One Is a Fun Sci-Fi Adventure Worth Watching on Prime Video

Ready Player one isn’t the most acclaimed entry in Spielberg’s vast filmography, but that says more about his other works than Ready Player One itself. Though it didn’t receive universal acclaim, it still boasts a 71% score on Rotten Tomatoes and is considered Certified Fresh. The general consensus is that Ready Player One is an entertaining slice of sci-fi that finds a fun way to tap into pop culture nostalgia. Drawing from Ernest Cline’s novel of the same name, Spielberg proved to be the ideal director to bring this story to life, leaning into his signature blockbuster filmmaking sensibilities to bring the immersive world of OASIS to life and craft some exciting action set pieces. From a technical perspective, Ready Player One proves Spielberg still has what it takes to deliver a standout genre film.

Part of the fun of Ready Player One is spotting references to iconic Hollywood properties. Unsurprisingly, there’s an abundance of Easter eggs for everything from Back to the Future to The Shining. While these bits are obviously included to get a reaction out of viewers, they also serve a greater purpose in the context of the narrative. Ready Player One can be interpreted as a commentary on society’s obsession with pop culture; the people in the universe of Ready Player One use OASIS as a digital escape from the real world and the various problems plaguing it. The story plays with some interesting concepts, but these aspects also invited criticism. Some people felt Ready Player One was too reliant on nostalgia and struggled to find deeper meaning, so in that sense, the movie should be a fascinating watch and spark some discussion.

Mileage may vary with regards to the story and overall message, but the cast of Ready Player One makes the film worthwhile. Mark Rylance, who had previously worked magic with Spielberg in Bridge of Spies, delivers another standout turn as James Halliday, the co-creator of OASIS. Though he only has a supporting role (the character of Halliday is dead during the events of the main story), Rylance injects plenty of heart and emotion into the film, particularly in its poignant closing moments. Ben Mendelsohn is also a treat to watch as another gleefully evil antagonist, giving the film a suitably strong threat. Tye Sheridan and Olivia Cooke are also solid as the leads (particularly Cooke), giving audiences easy characters to root for as they embark on the Easter egg hunt.

Cline wrote a sequel novel called Ready Player Two, which was published in 2020. There are plans to turn that book into a movie, with Spielberg on board as a producer (he will not be returning as director). However, there seemingly hasn’t been any concrete movement on that project for a while. It’ll be interesting to see if the Ready Player Two film ever happens, but between the box office success ($607.9 million worldwide against a $155-175 million budget) and streaming numbers of the first, there’s an audience for this kind of material. Audiences would probably enjoy a return trip to OASIS. However, it’s worth pointing out that Ready Player Two earned largely negative reviews, so it might take some work to get the movie’s story up to snuff.

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