Rebellion Assembles (WaterTower Music 2018)

   Earth population center in the near future creating slum-like cities desolated, engaged, by virtual reality world of OASIS where they can daily doing numerous activities on works, education and entertainment as users discovered the late creator of OASIS James Halliday’s Anorak’s Quest hidden on the game program as the egg hunter whom finding the Easter Egg promised the full ownership of OASIS and gifts attracting many gamers and people to join in as well the Innovative Online Industries (a video conglomerate manufacture of virtual reality world equipments accessing OASIS, trying hardly to find and owns the same thing for themselves before someone else took it led by CEO Nolan Sorrento and his high-tech army of debt-indentured players The Sixers with the first clue on finishing the car-race across ever-shifting dangerous cityscape which guarded by King Kong, T-Rex and giant wrecking balls. 

The poor talented and naïve adventurous orphan Wade Watts nickname Perzival joining in the game with his friends Aech, Daito and Sho meeting with the mysterious Art3mis a famous gunter (egg hunter) known later as “High Five” decided to study the virtual OASIS library learning about Halliday’s personal life and memories restored on finding hints to finish the race completely grabbing the first key – appearing themselves on the global scoreboard attracting IOI CEO and troops to investigating them. Many classic characters showing due the scene as Iron Giant, Centipede, etc as bounty hunter I-R0k overhears the real name of Perzival onto many more excitement where thanking Steven Spielberg directing Ready Player One movie wouldn’t be enough to express how again the audience being amazed witnessing the real near future imaginations that already happening now long the good action story of friendships and romancing drama in these advancing high-technology display. 

   As the slum city got attacked by F’Nale (Sorrento assistant) Perzival manage to rescued his real-life friends to the hideout in Columbus, Ohio discovering next hint about Kira – the girl whom dating Halliday and his best friend Marrow whom getting married with him later as the curator of OASIS library rewards him a 25 cent extra life coin after accessing Halliday’s memory for the second quest surviving the recreation of the horror movie The Shining sets showing us the creepy twin girls, blood-waves hallway, rotted grandma in a room until finding the greenish ballroom hell for floating dance for saving Kira from zombies. One more key to discovers as Planet Doom castle maintained by sixers and IOI caught Art3mis while Perzival sending messages through-out entire players about IOI illegal activities and to joining them in a fight allowing Aech, Daito and Sho leading the massive army of players within various characters including Street Fighters, Gundam, and more clashing with IOI soldiers as well as Mechagodzilla as sixers players trying to determine Atari 2600 game searching for the Easter Egg but failed but Wade himself finally found out about hidden dark room of Adventure gaming leads to the last key of Anorak’s Quest with fake contract, opportunity to wipe-out OASIS with big red button control as well as the final test that would be his biggest regret or the fear and leap that didn’t take awarded the true winner transferring OASIS to Wade with him sharing the power to his High Fives friends as Sorrento arrested and revealing the curator as Marrow himself helping them out from the beginning with the results of romantic relationship with Art3mis/Samantha as the decision to shut down OASIS twice a week ordering people to spending more time in the real world seems to be reasonable idea to do. 

   Alan Silvestri did the composing music score as well as various artists for the instrumental composing tracks like Hello, I’m James Halliday, Why Can’t We Go Backwards?, Welcome to The Rebellion, Orb of Osuvox, Art on The “Inside” or “Holding On To Something” as well as classics hits from the earlier era of Pop-cultured invasion showing Billy Idol, Blondie songs, Rush, The Outfield, Pat Benatar onto Duran Duran and New Order songs and music – captures most of the nostalgia characters that shaping our entertaining world gone through fun to insanity between possibilities and impossible ideas. 

Links:

https://open.spotify.com/user/ernestcline/playlist/5h6SYfQvJYAnr9S8Al4yOn

https://open.spotify.com/album/166LfpstziUpezunLrOxUR