Visually, Reaady Player One is top notch, but the script, characters, exposition and in-jokes (easter eggs, if you like) are all sub-par.

Cliched characters abound from the evil baddie through the 'i'm-just-a-kid' kid to Character-Twist-Avatar, whose twist was obvious from their first words. The clumsy exposition scenes really grated with me; it's a bit of a pet peeve of mine, but Spielberg usually manages to make them a little less obvious than they are here. It honestly felt like I was watching a run-of-the-mill 80s action flick at times, the number of times I moaned 'of course', 'obviously' or 'really??' at the screen.

Having said all the above, the CGI was excellent and the premise fairly engaging (if ultimately a little childish) which, on balance, dragged the whole affair to just above average for me.

Grab some macaroni to go with the chees, or butter for the corn if you're going to watch.

6/10