Opened: March 29, 2018

Directed by: Steven Spielberg

Starring: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Lena Waithe, T.J. Miller, Simon Pegg, Mark Rylance, Philip Zhao, Win Morisaki, Hannah John-Kamen, Susan Lynch, Ralph Ineson, Perdita Weeks, Clare Higgins, McKenna Grace, Lulu Wilson & Letitia Wright

Coming off an interesting premise from its source novel of the same name, director Steven Spielberg creates a spell-binding world that makes the film better than the book.

After the death of virtual reality genius James Halliday (Mark Rylance), it’s revealed that he built a competition inside the OASIS where the winner will own the rights to the platform. Teenager Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) discovers the first clue and leads the race against corporate businessman Nolan Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn).

The film is full of pop culture references and you’ll catch glimpses of King Kong, Batman, Chucky, The Iron Giant and the Overlook Hotel from The Shining among others. There’s a need to watch it more than once just to catch everything.

The race is a high stake one that continually has the characters – and you – on edge. Sheridan holds his own in the lead role.

Final say: Visually stunning. ★★★★☆