The film is a visual feast, recreating iconic scenes from The Shining , featuring the DeLorean from Back to the Future , and showcasing a massive battle with the Gundam from Mobile Suit Gundam . Here is the ironic twist that every fan should appreciate: The central message of Ready Player One is anti-corporate greed and pro-artistic integrity.

Our hero, Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan), an "Easter egg hunter" (Gunter) from the slums known as "The Stacks," teams up with his virtual crush, Art3mis (Olivia Cooke), and his best friend, Aech (Lena Waithe). Together, they must defeat the evil corporation IOI (Innovative Online Industries) led by the villainous Nolan Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn), who wants to privatize the OASIS and bombard users with ads.

In the film, the villain, IOI, represents soulless capitalism. They lock debt-ridden users in "loyalty centers" (virtual slave labor camps) to grind for coins. IOI doesn't care about the art of Halliday’s creation; they only care about monetizing the OASIS.