--- title: "‘Ready Player One’ has the most epic climactic battle scene" date: "2019-01-28" modified: "2020-10-22" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-movies/ready-player-one-has-the-most-epic-climactic-battle-scene/" categories: - "Entertainment" - "Movies and TV" --- # ‘Ready Player One’ has the most epic climactic battle scene ![]() A huge battle featuring the Battletoads, Ninja Turtles, Ultraman, Mechagodzilla, a team of Spartans from *Halo*, and about a thousand other beloved pop-culture and childhood icons is something we sadly had to leave behind once all our action figures were cleaned up and mom called us down to dinner. --- ![]() Kinda like that — but not at all. Well, not anymore. Hundreds of pop culture references from the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and recent years are featured heavily in Steven Speilberg's new film, *Ready Player One.* It's a film the director says was three years in the making and required the coordination of hundreds of artists and creatives the world over — including author Ernest Cline. Cline's 2011 sci-fi novel of the same name was also filled with these great easter eggs. The film is about the quest for such an "easter egg," which, for the unfamiliar, is an inside joke, hidden message, or secret feature created by the designer of a work. Watching or reading *Ready Player One* is a lot like trying to get to the center of the world's largest Matryoshka nesting doll of easter eggs. ![]() *On Easter.* Set in a poor area of Columbus, Ohio in the year 2045, film centers around Wade Watts, a young gamer inside the Oasis, an open, massively multiplayer, online world – essentially, it's a video game that has supplanted the real world in popularity. The Oasis is populated primarily by other gamers and almost everyone has a customized avatar. Wade's avatar is called "Parzival" and, in the Oasis, he's on the quest for the greatest easter egg in history. The Oasis' late creator, James Halliday, left a series of clues to help people find hidden keys. Once all three keys are collected, the winner can claim the easter egg – Halliday's fortune and ownership of the Oasis. Watts, in his quest, stumbles upon another gunter (or "egg hunter"), Samantha (also known as Art3mis) and three gamers he knows only through the Oasis: Aech (pronounced "*H*"), a samurai called Daito, and a ninja called Sho. ![]() *An earlier concept of the Battle of Castle Anorak.* Together, as they unlock the secrets to finding the keys, they have to contend with billionaire businessman Nolan Sorrento, CEO of Innovative Online Industries. IOI's corporate villain has seemingly unlimited resources, unlimited lives, and a vast army of digital slaves helping him wrest ownership of and monetize the Oasis, an idea anathema to the god-like Halliday's vision. By the time we get to the Battle of Castle Anorak (Anorak being the name of the late Halliday's avatar), Parzival has rallied the entire Oasis – the entire world – to fight to keep their digital world pure. Rolling in the DeLorean time machine from *Back to the Future*, wielding crowd-pleasing weaponry, like Monty Python's holy hand grenade, and fighting alongside horror movie legend, Chucky, Parzival and friends take on IOI's respawning army of employees. I know, it seems like a lot — even if you've already read the book. But look: If you're a fan of the pop culture of the 1980s, this is the movie for you (listen up, Gen-Xers). The film loves the 1980s as much as you do. More than that, *Ready Player One* is a throwback to the popcorn-peddling, fun, thrill-ride of movies from the 80s. ![]() *IOI's army of faceless game drones. (Amblin Entertainment)* Even if you don't love video games or cheeky 80s references, there's still something for everyone to love in *Ready Player One.* This is a movie for your inner pop-culture fan. Just make sure you've seen *The Shining* before you go*.* ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()