Now I took every chance possible to make this experience the best possible one for me. I saw this in theaters, on one out of ten 70mm prints around the world. I also saw this in Columbus, where all of this takes place, for some reason. But even with all of this, I guess my final take would be I loved everything about this film except for the actual story.

Before I get into that, one thing I want to make clear, this is not filmed in Columbus, and I am really disappointed because there have been a number of films shot here recently, including John Travolta's I Am Wrath and the Bruce Willis film First Kill.

Now onto the actual review. First I will pose a question. Do straight white men really need more assurance that they will exist in the future? This is bigger than the overabundance preportion of them in films, but quite literally in the future. Looking around at this film, there is some representation, in the supporting cast, but with a focus on online avatars, this falls into the neoliberal trap of suggesting identity problems are largely over. When considering that this is a video game, one of the more toxic communities in places(see Gamergate), this assumes there is a lot of development that makes everything better in terms of racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. This is especially evident when Aech, the only major black character in the film, goes with the police to provide testimony. This scene is especially problematic considering that Columbus has one of the largest problems per capita in terms of police violence, especially towards black individuals. I also had no idea until I read some articles that she is a lesbian, which is only briefly hinted at. With Sho and Daito, apparently the film lessens some of the heavier sterotyping the book uses, but they still are largely just there in the background, to be support for the white character's mission. Then you have Art3mis, who does get some action sequences in the film, but largely ends up as a secondary prize for Wade. There's also her blemish, which is treated as some massive thing that Wade overcomes in liking her. Now I don't want to assume anything about her self image, but the film largely treats it as some big hurdle to see her beyond this small factor(even when they also seem to want to minimize it noticeability). What we need is more afrofuturism, such as Black Panther and to a lesser degree A Wrinkle in Time, or anything which basically tells underrepresented groups, "Yes I see a future where you do exist."

But going back to the future, there are so much science fiction media that seems to almost be based on some sort of non-white genocide, where anyone who isn't what just doesn't exist anymore, or at least in largely diminished populations. Columbus currently has the second largest Somali population in the United States, and has a growing Nepali population. The final thing I want to focus on is the dystopian aspect which is apparently solved by shutting off Oasis on Tuesdays and Thursdays so people can appreciate reality, which complete avoids any solution to the serious problems that people definitely want to escape from. Basically Wade's life gets better so all the other problems are solved. Yes they do shut down IOI's desbtor's prisons, it doesn't really do anything to solve the problems of poverty, and when you shut down the only real way that those people have to make money, I can't believe that anything actually improved. Also, and I don't know where the blame lies, but the film assumes a separation between reality and digital space that isn't even realistic today, let alone in the future it establishes. Yes digital space can't replace the world, but at the same time, it has capabilities to expand our horizons in ways that only money can in the real world. Yes traversing the Great Wall of China on Google Maps doesn't compare to the real thing, but tell that to the families who have to decide whether to have heat or food. People need fantasy not only for high fantasy, but also sometimes just so they can avoid thinking about their real problems.

I have no problem with the use of nostalgia, because that is my favorite part of the film. I appreciate the complete overstimulation that this film uses, but it definitely is a very specific form of nostalgia that seems to avoid countless things, specifically any real media featuring people of color, except for of course the essential Japanese media. You have one instance of Michael Jackson, and that might be all I can think of.

One last thing real quick, check out the film Mamoru Oshii film Avalon, which definitely feels like a strong influence.