A creatively executed reflection of today's nostalgic culture, "Ready Player One" returns director Steven Spielberg to the prime of his blockbuster filmmaking, paying homage to a plethora of past icons while constructing its own vividly futuristic world.

The film is set in a not-too-far dystopia, where man-made enterprises have eliminated much of the world's resources and stripped it of its natural beauty, causing most of its residents to resort to the technological wonder of the OASIS, a fantastical and limitless virtual reality world, for any sort of enjoyment. Once James Halliday, the program's eccentric creator and sole owner, dies, he leaves behind a quest within the OASIS for any lucky player to complete a series of challenges in order to win his inheritance, including complete control of his software company and of the program.

"Ready Player One" relies primarily on two aspects of its filmmaking to create a compelling experience, those being its performances and visual effects. The film's main stars, Tye Sheridan and Olivia Cooke, inject tremendous life into their roles and even successfully build a romance that adds even more heart to the experience. The main antagonist, a corporate boss with plans to rule the OASIS, is played brilliantly by Ben Mendelsohn, whose hyperbolically evil and maniachal demeanor makes for an interesting force of opposition. Unfortunately, the film's characters lack incredible depth or nuance, but they do make for likable and compelling conduits for the audience.

Where Steven Spielberg's heralded brilliance elevates the film is in its striking sense of worldbuilding, a product, no doubt, of his masterful usage of visual effects. Since much of the movie takes place within a virtual landscape, most of its massive action set-pieces are computer-generated (a bit disappointing considering Spielberg's track record with practical effects), but Spielberg's proficiency in directing adds life to even the most extreme moments of surrealism.

Where "Ready Player One" seems to divide filmgoers is in its widespread inclusion of 80's nostalgia in every aspect of the movie, ranging from hardly noticeable cameos to integral parts of the film's plot. If you stare closely enough at just about any frame of the movie, you're sure to find at least one recognizable character or icon from an old property hidden somewhere. Even its soundtrack harkens back to the iconic tracks of 80's rock and evokes this same wistful familiarity as a result. With a movie like "Ready Player One," one with such a heavy reliance on established properties and characters, a singular question arises: Does the movie merely utilize nostalgic elements to craft an altogether fresh story, or does its overall enjoyment rely entirely on this manipulation of familiar concepts?

Personally, I think either interpretation is a positive reflection on the film's quality. Even if the main reason you enjoyed a movie is that you were delighted to see your favorite familiar characters standing onscreen together, the movie still succeeded in entertaining you, making it undoubtedly worth the price of admission. That said, Spielberg's film provides more enjoyment than a mere nostalgia trip, with a compelling story that doesn't merely include existing properties but creatively twists them in refreshing new ways.

So is Spielberg's "Ready Player One" worth your time and money? Put simply, yes. The movie boasts stellar visuals, a fun soundtrack, a likable cast of characters, and a fresh storyline that happens to weave in plenty of familiar surprises that'll undoubtedly put a smile on your face.