By: Caden H. Hollander
Video games are taking over the world. What???!!! Pixels is directed by Chris Columbus (Home Alone, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) and stars Adam Sandler, Kevin James and Josh Gad. The film is based on a short film, and is about a probe in the 1980s that was sent up into space to possible extra-terrestrial life forms that contains video games, to show aliens some of our culture. However, the aliens believe that the probe is a threat from Earth. So, the aliens come to Earth, but they use huge pixellated video game characters to attack the world. So, the President (James) must call on his childhood friend (Sandler), who was a Worldwide Video Game Champ, to defeat the aliens (aka video game characters). So, Adam Sandler has not made a good film for a while, with The Cobbler, Blended, Men Women & Children, Grown Ups 2, That's My Boy, Jack and Jill, Zookeeper and Just Go With It, all TERRIBLE films, racking up his resume of late. However, this film might have hope due to director Chris Columbus, who has created comedic hits such as Home Alone and Mrs. Doubtfire, as well as a large-scale action film like Harry Potter, which shows he has both comedic and action directing skills, and this movie is a mix of both. This film, however, has also been getting terrible reviews, and since I saw the film a few weeks after it came out, there was enough time for me to hear about the terrible reviews. So, I went into this movie with absolutely no expectation, and I was surprised walking out of the theater that I actually enjoyed it.
Video games are taking over the world. What???!!! Pixels is directed by Chris Columbus (Home Alone, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) and stars Adam Sandler, Kevin James and Josh Gad. The film is based on a short film, and is about a probe in the 1980s that was sent up into space to possible extra-terrestrial life forms that contains video games, to show aliens some of our culture. However, the aliens believe that the probe is a threat from Earth. So, the aliens come to Earth, but they use huge pixellated video game characters to attack the world. So, the President (James) must call on his childhood friend (Sandler), who was a Worldwide Video Game Champ, to defeat the aliens (aka video game characters). So, Adam Sandler has not made a good film for a while, with The Cobbler, Blended, Men Women & Children, Grown Ups 2, That's My Boy, Jack and Jill, Zookeeper and Just Go With It, all TERRIBLE films, racking up his resume of late. However, this film might have hope due to director Chris Columbus, who has created comedic hits such as Home Alone and Mrs. Doubtfire, as well as a large-scale action film like Harry Potter, which shows he has both comedic and action directing skills, and this movie is a mix of both. This film, however, has also been getting terrible reviews, and since I saw the film a few weeks after it came out, there was enough time for me to hear about the terrible reviews. So, I went into this movie with absolutely no expectation, and I was surprised walking out of the theater that I actually enjoyed it.
To start, this film is the definition of a guilty pleasure movie. This movie is not necessarily well-made. There is a ton of cheesy dialog, and it is hard to buy a few things. That being said, what this movie got right were the 80's video games. This film paid homage to older games, like Pac-Man and Donkey Kong, which was really cool. The concept is also really interesting, with old video games coming down to kill us, and only 80's gaming experts can save the world because everyone's forgotten about those old arcade games. Also, this movie has an action element to it on top of the comedy. And while some of the comedic moments do fall flat, the action sequences are really cool, which adds to the enjoyment of the film.
As for the acting, everybody was fine in the film. Nobody blew me away, and nobody really seemed under par, with the exception of Kevin James. It was nearly impossible to buy James as the President of the United States, especially with the character setup they gave him, and also how involved he became with the final fight. Also, Adam Sandler and Michelle Monaghan's characters become romantically entangled throughout the film, and you really did not buy their chemistry whatsoever.
Overall, Pixels has a lot of issues, but is also REALLY fun. That is an aspect that Adam Sandler has not brought to his films for a while, and that vibe Chris Columbus most certainly brings. This is a popcorn movie that you can watch with friends, and just have a great time. There are problems, but it is at a much higher level than recent Adam Sandler efforts. While there were problems, I walked away liking the movie, which gives this film a B-. What did you think of Pixels? I know I have the minority opinion here, but comment below and give your thoughts on the film!