Spielberg’s Most Misunderstood Sci-Fi Hits Prime The Same Day It Leaves Netflix

December 30, 2025, 7:00pm

Steven Spielberg is one of the most influential and acclaimed filmmakers in cinematic history. A true pioneer of film, Spielberg has consistently delivered some of the best movies of all time, and he has the box office numbers and awards wins to prove it. Although he is best known for iconic movies like Jaws, E.T., Jurassic Park, and Schindler’s List, another film in Spielberg’s filmography is massively underrated, and it just found a new streaming home.

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After joining Netflix in November 2025, Spielberg’s 2018 blockbuster sci-fi movie Ready Player One left the platform on December 30th, but it didn’t disappear from streaming for long. That same day, the movie joined Prime Video’s streaming catalog. Based on Ernest Cline’s 2011 novel of the same name, Ready Player One is set in a future reality on the brink of chaos and collapse where most people escape the real world through the virtual reality simulation OASIS. When OASIS’ owner dies, a talented gamer enters a reality-bending treasure hunt to win ownership of a massive virtual reality universe.

Ready Player One Is a Criminally Underrated Movie

Ready Player One was a massive success, but that’s not to say that it isn’t underrated. The movie’s massive $607 million box office haul made it a blockbuster hit, and it was generally well-received by critics and audiences, scoring a “Certified Fresh” 71% critic score and 77% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but the movie has become more and more overlooked as time has passed.

The movie was generally seen as a fun spectacle missing the book’s depth and as relying too heavily on ‘80s nostalgia and flashy CGI, but beyond the surface-level pop culture references (and there are plenty) and CGI spectacle, Ready Player One is smarter than given credit for. The movie is packed with social commentary and really acts as a cautionary tale about nostalgia and escapism. In Ready Player One, the world is so stuck in ‘80s nostalgia that the paralyzing obsession with the past prevents them from moving forward, and their efforts to escape their grim, dystopian world into the vibrant world of virtual reality ultimately lead to them sacrificing genuine human connections and basic real-world needs. The movie aims to drive home the point that true happiness can only be found in reality, and it does so through an epic adventure with great Easter eggs and action.

What’s New on Prime Video?

Ready Player One started streaming on Prime Video alongside a wave of final additions on December 30th that included both Blade and Blade II, He’s Just Not That Into You, Practical Magic, and Alexander Skarsgård’s The Legend of Tarzan. The final push for December content followed the arrival of movies like Sinners, Mad Max (1980), and the Naked Gun reboot earlier in the month. Prime Video is set to roll out even more great titles next month, with January 1st set to bring films such as Alien: Romulus, Forrest Gump, The Breakfast Club, and the Mission Impossible movies.