While many argue Steven Spielberg’s filmography has been hit-or-miss in recent years, “The BFG” and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” being prominent examples, one thing is for sure: “Ready Player One” is a definite hit.

Based on Ernest Cline’s 2011 novel, “Ready Player One” takes the audience on a visually beautiful adventure chock full of pop culture references from the past several decades.

Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke and Ben Mendelsohn lead the cast of Spielberg’s grand adventure. Released March 29, the film boasted a respectable $41 million domestic opening weekend, according to Box Office Mojo. Fans of Cline’s work should keep an open mind the film is not a direct adaptation.

A flashy opening sequence cued by Van Halen’s “Jump” takes us to a not-too-distant dystopian future where the only good thing left in life is a massive virtual reality game called the Oasis. In the Oasis, anything is possible, and the beautifully rendered prologue takes its time to showcase endless possibilities. Players can create any avatar of their choosing and let their imaginations run wild.

The film is visually breathtaking; the special effects and CGI in the Oasis were incredibly done, as was the amount of detail went into creating the characters and locations. Pop culture fanatics will have a blast playing “Where’s Waldo” to spot some of their favorite characters and references.

Composer Alan Silvestri provided an epic musical score which blended seamlessly with classic 80’s tunes from Twisted Sister, Blondie, Billy Idol, Duran Duran and more.

Despite the beautiful visuals, the film struggles in a few areas, the first being the cast of characters. While the actors appeared to give their best performance, their characters ultimately came off flat. Mendelsohn plays the stereotypical corporate overlord and Sheridan plays the puppy-eyed, parentless underdog. The callback to such archetypes is understandable as they were commonplace in the 80’s. However, they are very overused, which left much more to be desired from the characters.

In addition to the real life characters not being nearly as interesting as their avatars, the non-Oasis scenes weren’t as compelling as the action-packed Oasis sequences. Who would want to go back the dreary dystopia after going on a virtual death race through Manhattan in a DeLorean while dodging King Kong and a T-Rex?

Another problem is the painstakingly obvious messages conveyed throughout the film. A subtle approach about the importance of not losing touch with reality and the dangers of corporate takeover would’ve been preferable, instead the plot was delivered like a sledgehammer blow to the face

Translating Cline’s work onto the silver screen was no easy task, yet Spielberg managed to keep the charm and nostalgia alive while providing his own adequate touch. Spielberg delivers what he does best: the epic quest which enchants viewers from beginning to end.