Respond to these rapid questions in our Ready Player One quiz and we will tell you which Ready Player One character you are. Play it now.
Do you remember the name of the high school that the characters in John Hughes’ films attended? Did you ever have a chance to play “Pitfall!” on your Atari 2600 when you were a kid? In addition, are you aware of what may be lurking behind the closed door of Room 237?
The vast majority of the numerous pop-culture references sprinkled throughout “Ready Player One” may elicit nothing more than a chuckle of recognition from you even if you can answer “yes” to all three of these questions (as I was able to do at the time). Despite the fact that the action is fast-paced and non-stop, both in virtual reality and in reality, wallowing in ’80s nostalgia can only be enjoyable for so long—even if you’re a child of the era (as I am), and it only really works when it serves to advance the plot. A great deal of the humor in Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Ernest Cline’s best-selling novel is in the form of the phrase: “Here’s something you remember from your childhood.” “And here’s another thing,” says the author. “Here’s an obscure thing that only a select few of you will be able to obtain, which will make you feel extremely intelligent.”
Charles Schulz’s character from the “Child’s Play” films appears on screen alongside The Iron Giant and the DeLorean from “Back to The Future.” As part of a thrilling auto race through the virtual streets of New York, the characters must take risks in order to outrun the T. Rex from the film “Jurassic Park” as well as the legendary monster King Kong. In order to see everything in one sitting, you’ll have to spread it out over several days. After all, this is a film that contains a literal Easter egg—and it is a “movie,” not a “film,” which is something Spielberg himself pointed out earlier this month during the film’s South by Southwest premiere.
For such a thorough (and overlong) trip down memory lane, Spielberg would appear to be the ideal director to helm the film. After all, this is the decade in which he established himself as one of our greatest and most influential filmmakers, and which he helped define. “Ready Player One” may have originated in someone else’s mind, but at its core, it is a Spielbergian hero’s journey, complete with lens flares that appear early and often. The film’s central character is a young man named Wade Watts, who is obsessed with video games and goes by the name Parzival in the massive virtual reality that everyone inhabits in the dystopian future depicted in the film. His character is very much in the same driven, single-minded vein as Henry Thomas in “E.T.”, Harrison Ford in the “Indiana Jones” films, Tom Cruise in Minority Report, and Tom Hanks in “Catch Me If You Can.” He’s also very much in the same vein as Tom Hanks in “Catch Me If You Can.” Wade Watts is played by Tye Sheridan, who has previously appeared in “Mud” and “X-Men: Apocalypse.” He even has a similar appearance to Richard Dreyfuss from the “Close Encounters” series.
But you shouldn’t waste any more time and start this Ready Player One quiz.
A blend of gritty live action and glossy computer-generated imagery, “Ready Player One” is at once familiar in its aesthetic and forward-thinking in its technological advancements. It’s an ambitious mix that can be thrilling while it’s going on, but it doesn’t last very long after that, leaving you wondering what the point of it all is, aside from validating the insularity of ravenous fandom.
Every song in the film, from Van Halen’s “Jump” and Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It” to George Michael’s “Faith” and Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” is accompanied by a slew of needle drops that take us deeper into the decade. The music choices can be a little too obvious at times; however, the use of New Order’s “Blue Monday” to set the tone as we enter a large, laser-filled dance club is absolutely perfect.
Ready Player One Quiz
In the midst of all this retro mayhem (which Cline himself co-wrote with Zak Penn) is an actual story—which, in turn, is a throwback to something that is never explicitly named in the movie. An abridged version of “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” this film features an underdog who works hard to overcome challenges posed to him by a magical, whimsical genius, with the goal of winning a grand prize at the end of the film.
Also, you will find out which character are you in this Ready Player One quiz.
The year is 2045, and the setting is the city of Columbus, Ohio. In “The Stacks,” Wade lives with a large number of other people in a densely populated cluster of dilapidated trailers stacked high on top of one another and connected by scaffolding. When Wade and his neighbors want to get away from their mundane lives, they put on their virtual reality headsets and enter the Oasis, a sprawling virtual reality world where they spend the majority of their time. They are, in fact, using virtual reality in their RVs.
You have the freedom to be whoever or whatever you want to be, go wherever you want to go, and do whatever you want. You can take on the role of a fearsome warrior or a sultry anime vixen. A planet-sized casino or an expedition up Mount Everest with Batman are two options for those who want to try their hand at gambling. Alternatively, you can simply hang out with your friends—people you’ve never met in person but who feel like you know them intimately—as Wade does when he’s dressed as the chicly rebellious, “Final Fantasy”-styled Parzival in the Oasis. Art3mis (Lena Waithe) is his best friend, and he’s head over heels in love with Aech (Lena Waithe), a motorcycle-riding punk rock badass who he meets on the street (Olivia Cooke).
About the quiz
Having either of these characters at the center of the story would have made for a far more compelling film, but instead we’re stuck with Parzival, who is both bland and brave in his role as our guide. Waithe exudes a confident confidence that is extremely appealing; Cooke doesn’t have nearly as much to work with as she did in the gripping dark comedy “Thoroughbreds,” but at least Art3mis is on an equal footing with Parzival in terms of intelligence and abilities, and she isn’t simply relegated to being “the girl.”
Also, you must try to play this Ready Player One quiz.
They (along with everyone else) are on the lookout for the three hidden keys left behind by the late Oasis founder, James Halliday, who was described as “socially awkward and Steve Jobs-esque” (Mark Rylance, a much-needed source of quiet and humanity in this noisy, overwhelming world). It’s literally the keys to the kingdom, as they say! Heir to his empire and ruler of the Oasis, whoever discovers them becomes the heir apparent. Despite his encyclopedic knowledge of Halliday’s life and inspiration, no one has ever come close to matching Parzival’s accomplishment. Nolan Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn, as chilling as ever), the greedy corporate villain, has amassed a massive army of mercenaries to scour the Oasis for the keys, with the goal of exploiting this realm for personal profit as a result. According to this behemoth studio blockbuster, this is a heinous crime against humanity.
“Ready Player One” is built around following these characters around as they jump from one challenge to the next, solving one problem before moving on to the next problem, using clues from the movies, music and video games that Halliday adored as they do so. In the end, however, this instinct results in the film’s most powerful sequence, which finds the characters’ avatars landing right in the middle of Stephen King’s novel “The Shining.” I would never reveal which elements of Stanley Kubrick’s film they will be exploring, or which rooms of The Overlook Hotel they will be staying in. Although it is the most clever use of computer-generated imagery in a live-action setting, I believe it upends our expectations of a pop-culture phenomenon rather than simply regurgitating something we already know and love. It makes a point about why “The Shining” is important while also providing us with an unexpected opportunity to see it from a different perspective.
More of that kind of multi-layered approach could have elevated “Ready Player One” from a rollicking, name-dropping romp to a substantive tale with something to say about the influences that shape us during our youth and continue to influence us well into adulthood if it had been used more effectively. Oh, and as for the answer to the John Hughes question, here it is: Shermer High School is located at 60062 Shermer Road in Shermer, Illinois.
For more personality quizzes check this: Oceans Eight Quiz.
