'Ready Player One' is an Easter Egg lover's dream

Story 
Ready Player One is a movie based on a book of the same name by Ernest  Cline.
Wade Watts is an 18-year old living in Columbus Ohio, where many people live in the slums called "Stacks" where, as Wade says "There's nowhere left  to go,v except the OASIS." It's a virtual world where anyone could be anything they want. The creator of the OASIS, James Halliday hid an Easter egg and the first person to find it will win control of the OASIS and a large amount of money.
One of the things that fascinated me about this movie is the setting. The world of the Oasis is limitless in its possibility, that's also the draw for many of the people in this movie. This movie also tells the story of an underdog. Wade is very unassuming and because of that, we root for him. He's a kid who wants to get away from the bad hand life had dealt him. He's essentially a video game nerd but, towards the end, he becomes a more confident character whilst taking on the responsibilities of a hero.
In the world of the OASIS, players aren't meant to show their true identities and it's interesting to see the contrast between the avatars and their real-life counterparts.
Another factor that caught my attention was the number of pop culture references in the film. From the movies mentioned to the avatars present throughout the movie, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a reference in almost every scene. I haven't read the book but now I'm intrigued. To list all references would take too long, but to name a few of the ones I noticed.

• The Delorean from Back to the Future 
• Batman 
• The Batmobile
•  Harley Quinn
• The Joker
• The Iron Giant 
• The Halo game series 
• Godzilla
• The lightsaber from Star Wars
• King Kong

This film has moments of levity as many films do, some of them aren't outright jokes, the moments that worked resonated with the audience and had them laughing, those that didn't got a reaction out of some people but not everyone.
 One downside to the story is the predictability, the love story, while not wholly unnecessary was a little cliche, there is a scene where that is called out but that doesn't make up for the fact that it's predictable. I also have a question "Do these people do anything else except go into the OASIS?" I'm pretty sure I didn't see anyone do anything else in this movie. I know that we aren't watching this movie to see their everyday lives but it seems odd that no one is doing anything else.
It may also come across as an older person trying to understand younger people by trying to cram the movie in with as many easter eggs and references as possible, but as you watch the film the easter eggs and references are all an organic part of the story even if they can seem misplaced at the time.

Acting
Tye Sheridan plays Wade Watts/Parzival and to put it simply he's a video game nerd and I related to that. As you watch the film you understand his motivations. He wants to get out of his own situation while also preserving the sanctity of the OASIS. As cliche as it sounds, he's fighting for what he believes in.
Olivia Cooke plays Samantha Cook/Atr3mis the female lead of the movie and Wade's love interest. Samantha's reason for finding the easter egg is rooted more in emotion and past experience, more so than Wade, at times she appears to be the one who is taking the quest the most serious, out of the other main characters. She's a character that holds her own and isn't afraid of taking on a challenge even though it could have negative consequences.
Lena Waithe plays Helen/ Aech is the best part of this movie. She's a standout with best jokes and great one-liners. Her character is badass without coming across as grating or trying too hard. There's a scene with 'The Shining' and she is hilarious in that scene. When you watch it you'll know what I'm talking about. Even though she is comic relief character without a real arc in the story, the jokes never feel like they're at her expense.
Ben Mendelsohn plays the villain who owns a company called IOI, who wants to control the OASIS. His motivations make sense,  but he seemed too cartoonish and over the top at times. As a whole, he wasn't  the most memorable part of the movie
The other supporting characters have a lot going for them but they aren't 100% memorable. Mark  Rylance as James Halliday, Simon Pegg as Ogden Morrow. There's even a cameo from T.J. Miller. All these actors were perfectly fine, but none of them stood out that much.

Direction
 The movie was directed by Steven Spielberg. He's very talented when it comes to sci-fi as evidenced by E.T and Close Encounter of the Third Kind.
Ready Player One is a film with good direction and world building and I attribute that to Steven Spielberg. He took a story that could be quite complex and simplified it in a way that doesn’t seem like it was dumbed down. The exposition that is given to the audience in form of voiceover is something that could have been handled and incorporated into the narrative in a smoother way.
There are moments where shaky cam is used and it’s something. That took me out of the scene as I was focused more on the camera movements rather than the scene going on in front of me.
As previously mentioned the story and some of the dialogue were cliche but Spielberg took those elements and injected enough creativity and distinct visual cues to make a movie that stands out. All the attention to  detail  really shows


CGI/Set Design
This film is visually stunning.  Many people would watch this movie and say there is too much CGI and I actually felt that way when I first saw the trailer but as I watched the movie I realised that the look of this film is deliberate. Many of the scenes look almost too glossy. This highlights the fact that the OASIS isn't reality, even though it can look hyper-realistic.
The scenes that stood out the most to me were the ones where the glossy finish of the OASIS was combined with the texture of the real world setting. There is a clear difference between the two but it isn't jarring. It all melds together very seamlessly.
It's interesting because we spend a lot of time in the OASIS and the CGI holds up every time we're in there especially the way the characters move in the OASIS mimicked how they move in real life. It shows that there was an effort made to keep the continuity.

Score/Soundtrack
The score was done by Alan Silvestri. There isn't much to say about the score, none of the pieces really stood out to me. It wasn't by any stretch bad, it serves it purpose and carries the film along with pieces that  reflect  the tone of the scene and the movie as a whole
The soundtrack, however, was one that made a lot of narrative sense. much like the movie and characters in this film, the songs could also be considered easter eggs as a lot of them are from the 70s and 80s along with some of the games and movies.
I wouldn't necessarily go out and get the score or the soundtrack, but they fulfil their purpose even though the score is a bit forgettable.

Overall Thoughts
Ready  Player One is an enjoyable popcorn movie that needs to be seen more than once. With the sheer amount of references and easter eggs in the movie, one could spend hours combing through the film to find them all. I recommend that this movie should be seen with at least one more person that way you could compare the easter eggs that were noticed. With a strong performance from its lead and a standout from Lena Waithe, I would recommend Ready Player One.
One thing that has stuck with me since I watched the movie is the idea that we only see what people want us to see. It made me think about how we may sometimes mistake things we see online and through social media and online gaming as reality. I would pay to see it again.