At the movies: Audiences, critics excited as Spielberg returns with sci-fi thriller

Beloved science-fiction director Steven Spielberg is back in the director’s chair with a film new to theaters this weekend.
Known for his work on “Jurassic Park,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “Minority Report,” Spielberg is no stranger to the strange and unusual elements that fans enjoy as he brings “Ready Player One” to the big screen. It’s also based on a novel by Ernest Cline of the same name.
The film follows a group of friends in a world where OASIS offers a reprieve from reality. OASIS is intended to take users to an alternative reality where the only boundaries are the ones placed by lack of imagination.
A contest is established by OASIS’ owner James Halliday (Mark Rylance, “Dunkirk” and “Bridge of Spies”) to find an heir to his fortune and knowledge, to which underdog Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan, “Mud” and “X-Men: Apocalypse”) steps up to bat. It’s not long before Watts and his friends must face the chaos that threatens their world, and OASIS.
Audiences also meet Samantha Evelyn Cook (Olivia Cooke, “The Signal” and “Ouija”), Nolan Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” and “Animal Kingdom”), Ogden Morrow (Simon Pegg, “Shaun of the Dead” and “Star Trek”), F’Nale Zandor (Hannah John-Kamen, “Black Mirror” and “Tomb Raider”), i-R0k (T.J. Miller, “Cloverfield” and “Deadpool”), Aech (Lena Waithe, “Master of None” and “Dear White People”), Rick (Ralph Ineson, “The Witch” and “The Office”) and Aunt Alice (Susan Lynch, “From Hell” and “Enduring Love”).
According to the media review website RottenTomatoes.com, 98 percent of people want to see “Ready Player One,” while critics have already given it a 78 percent fresh rating. Users of the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) have already awarded it 8.1 out of 10 stars.
The film has been relatively well received so far, particularly after its debut at the SXSW Film Festival. Brian Tallerico wrote for RogerEbert.com that the buzz “was as intense as I’ve ever seen surrounding a movie.”
Tallerico wrote that “this is a movie that will almost certainly thrill those who Spielberg sets out to thrill — fans of pop culture and even the next generation who is more attuned to tech and video game culture.”
“And make no mistake — this is a ‘movie,’ not a ‘film,’ a distinction that Spielberg made himself in the introduction,” he added, referring to Spielberg’s introduction of the movie during the film festival. “He wants people to sit back and enjoy the ride, and so very, very many people will.”
The film is rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action violence, bloody images, some suggestive material, partial nudity and language.
Other films new in theaters this week include:
n “Tyler Perry’s Acrimony” featuring Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Nicolet, Jazmyn Simon and Ajiona Alexus, directed by Tyler Perry, is a thriller about an enraged wife.
The film is rated R.
n “Finding Your Feet” featuring Timothy Spall, Joanna Lumley, Imelda Staunton and Celie Imrie, directed by Richard Loncraine, follows two sisters with different outlooks on life.
The film is rated PG-13.
n “God’s Not Dead: A Light in Darkness” directed by Michael Mason, starring David A.R. White, John Corbett, Shane Harper and Ted McGinley, follows a pastor after a church is left in ashes.
The film is rated PG.