Nerds of a certain age are so precious about the pop-culture artifacts of their youth, it's tempting to see this gathering of hundreds in a dump full of discarded '80s detritus as an apt visual metaphor. The spectators see it in more mythic terms, however; more than one enthusiast compares the dig to Raiders Of The Lost Ark, and a sudden sandstorm evokes the opening of Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. Everyone here speaks fluent Spielberg. (It's fitting that Penn is adapting Cline's Ready Player One, a book heavily steeped in vintage video games, as a screenplay for Spielberg to direct.) Penn keeps inserting himself into the action, playing the role of the buffoonish Hollywood guy who knows nothing about archaeological excavations, and he's usually not as amusing as he's trying to be. When the revelation finally comes, it's underwhelming to say the least. Yes, there are E.T. cartridges buried in Alamogordo, but not millions of them, and there are plenty of more popular games buried there, too.
Review of Atari: Game Over
