Movie Review: Pixels

I wanted to see this film when it came out back in 2015. But then I saw Adam Sandler’s name attached to it and greatly discouraged. His production of films for close to the last decade have been weak to say at least. Especially since I already reviewed ¾ Netflix movies he came out with, I decided to take the risk but there was nothing else to watch.

“When aliens intercept video feeds of classic arcade games and misinterpret them as a declaration of war, they attack Earth, using the games as models. Knowing that he must employ a similar strategy, President Will Cooper (Kevin James) recruits his childhood pal, former video-game champ and home-theater installer Sam Brenner (Adam Sandler), to lead a team of old-school arcade players and a military specialist (Michelle Monaghan) in an all-out battle to save the planet.”

Who in their right mind thought Kevin James should ever be casted as the president. I couldn’t take that guy seriously in any role he has done. But the President of the USA? Now that takes the cake. The film revolves around a kid who lived arcades in the 1980’s. But who didn’t? I honestly miss the local one to me that was called Wizards Castle. I used to crush rolls of quarters like nobody’s business every weekend. Especially when it came down to Mortal Kombat 2, Star Wars Pod Racing and of course Area 51.

However in the 1980’s, it was about Pac-Man, Space Invaders and Donkey Kong. The movie focuses on these Atari classics and forms the entire story around this. Why? Well Sam Brenner enters an arcade contest and ends up facing his rival FireBlaster (later played by Peter Dinklage) which leads to a heartbreaking loss. The company who ran the contest sent a time capsule into space with the footage of the event as a way to show we are a good culture. However, the opposite happens and an alien race invades by utilizing these games as a way to invade 30+ years later.

At this point Sam became a technician that hooks up audio/video for customers and meets a DARPA agent played by Michelle Mongahan who he instantly falls head over heels for. However, when these Aliens invade, his friend, the POTUS, calls him for help to defeat the alien race. They enlist the help with Peter Dinklage’s (who plays a good sleaze ball. Who knew that Tyrion Lannister rubbed off on him that well) character by getting him out of jail to help defeat the Aliens with the Atari games contest.

Along the way we see a ton of walk-ons with Dan Akyrod, Martha Stewart, Brian Cox, the creator of Pac-Man and Serena Williams. They all add the cheesiness of the film along the way to make the film even more watchable. I am shocked to say, but I suggest for everyone to give this film a shot, even with Adam Sandler headlining it. Yes, it killed me a little on the inside to write that.

#pixels #adamsanderls #nintendo #retro #videogames #peterdinklage #netlfix