Before you plunk down your quarters for a ride through its '80s-influenced pop culture landscape, check out a few things you need to know about the movie and its makers.
The tribute to Cline's childhood influences -- 1980s movies and music -- resonated immediately with critics as well, receiving warm reviews from Entertainment Weekly, The Boston Globe and others. Thus far translated into more than 20 languages, "Ready Player One" won recognition from the American Library Association and picked up a Prometheus Award.
Special-projects supervisor Deidre Backs also secured the rights for dozens of movie and TV properties from subsequent decades, along with a library's worth of video game characters and their worlds; basically, if you keep your eyes peeled during the film, you're likely to see some mention of or reference to something you loved as a kid.
But the film's female cast is equally strong, featuring Olivia Cooke ("Me and Earl and the Dead Girl"), Emmy Award-winner Lena Waithe ("Master of None"), Hannah John-Kamen ("Tomb Raider"), and "Black Panther" breakout Letitia Wright in strong, complex roles that not only complement their male counterparts, but also commandeer the screen.
His peerless work behind the camera has shaped the imaginations of literal generations of moviegoers (much less Mr. Cline), constructing one unforgettable sequence after another in films from "Raiders of the Lost Ark" to "Jurassic Park" to "Minority Report. He remains at the top of his craft as he reflects upon the legacy he has left upon the silver screen.
