'Ready Player One' TV Spot Goes Overboard With References

Ready Player One, Steven Spielberg's big nostalgia trip adaptation of Ernest Cline's pop culture novel, has unleashed a new TV spot. Some people have accused Ready Player One of being little more than a collection of pop culture references, and this spot does very little to dissuade that opinion. Watch the reference-heavy Ready Player One TV spot below.

I never thought there would come a time when I would find myself nervous about a Steven Spielberg film, but here we are. Thanks a lot, 2018! I love Spielberg, and I'm a huge fan of most of his 21st century output. I thought his recent film The Post was one of his very best. Hell, I even liked The BFG! But all of the marketing for Spielberg's new film Ready Player One has left a bad taste in my mouth. This new Ready Player One TV spot certainly doesn't change that. See for yourself.

From director Steven Spielberg, comes a world where you can do anything and be anyone. On March 29, experience an adventure of a lifetime. #ReadyPlayerOne pic.twitter.com/2IyNvJMWR5

— Ready Player One (@readyplayerone) March 7, 2018

This spot goes hard on the references. "You can climb Mt. Everest, with Batman!" Tye Sheridan's Wade Watts says in the beginning. Then A-ha's "Take On Me" kicks in, and characters start name-dropping. "Iron Giant!" someone cries. "Lex Luthor!" proclaims another. "Chucky!" screams someone else, referencing the killer doll from Child's Play. "Kong!" says yet another person, as King Kong lumbers through traffic. It's a lot to take in, folks.

I want to like this film. I really, really do. I want to watch Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One, then come out of the theater beaming. "That was so much better than the marketing made it seem!" I want to cry, raising my fists to the heavens. Like Red in The Shawshank Redemption, I hope for all of this. (See, I can make references, too).

You should never judge a film by its marketing. I thought the trailers for Spielberg's Bridge of Spies made the film look kind of dull. But the movie turned out to be wonderful. I have all my fingers and toes crossed hoping that Ready Player One ends up being a pleasant surprise. We'll know for certain when the film hits theaters on March 29, 2018.

In the near future, gamers compete inside a massive video game universe to find an "Easter egg" hidden by the network's recently deceased creator which promises real life riches. Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) becomes the first player to successfully navigate the first level of the test, sparking a high-stakes international race to crack the game's code. Steven Spielberg directs this dystopian adventure based off the 2011 sc-fi novel by Ernest Cline.