In 1982, in the hopes of establishing peaceful communication with extraterrestrial life, NASA launches a time capsule into outer space containing images and footage of Earth life and culture. However, the aliens that find the capsule misinterpret the enclosed video-feeds of classic arcade games as a declaration of war, thus sending various assaults on Earth using arcade characters from the past to destroy the world. The President and his old friends from his arcade days must gather together and defeat the alien onslaught before it’s too late. What could have been a pretty lousy movie ends up being a really fun family movie for all to enjoy.
Pixels is directed by Chris Columbus and stars Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Michelle Monaghan, Josh Gad and Peter Dinklage. Not being the biggest Sandler fan, I went into the movie with caution. I don’t think he’s funny and really only ever made a few good movies. Well I’m glad to say this is one of them. This was just plain fun, nothing more and nothing less. It’s one giant popcorn flick that everyone can find some humor in. Family friendly with little to no cussing or over sexualized jokes and has more than one strong female character. Needless to say I had a great time.
The concept is really funny to begin with: what if aliens misunderstood our videos and saw them as an act of war? If aliens began to attack using old arcade style games as our attackers: Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Space Invaders, etc. How would we defend ourselves? Well that’s the problem that President Cooper (Kevin James) has. His elite military task force just isn’t up to the job. They don’t understand how beat the game constructs that are wreaking havoc on the earth. Cooper must then enlist his childhood friends, Sam Brenner (Sandler), Ludlow Lamonsoff (Josh Gad) and Eddie Plant (Peter Dinklage), all who were video game champions back in the 80s.
Cooper brings them in as civilian support, to watch and teach, but not fight. But when Centipede attacks, the military is outgunned and outmatched, leaving nobody but the nerds to come in and save the day. Sandler’s character has an uncanny ability to see the pattern that these old style games used to use, allowing the earth to continue in the fight for survival. The aliens have made a deal: who ever wins three games, wins the world. So the President put his old friends in charge of the new geek task force, The Arcaders, to defend the Earth.
The humor is childish, like most Sandler films, but not as dirty. There are a few jokes here and there that might be off color, but the majority of the humor is played rather straight. Sandler has chemistry with his co-stars, which really works in the scenes where they need to work together to take down the bigger enemies. Lt. Colonel Violet van Patten (Michelle Monaghan) is brought in as The Arcaders liaison to the President and she actually has really good chemistry with Sandler. Didn’t see that coming. They bounce off each well in the flick and it really fun to watch their banter back and forth. You can see in all the scenes these actors were all having a great time making this movie.
Gad, James and Dinklage all bring their own brand of humor to the movie. Each has a strong element for the flick; James as our foolish but means well President, Gad as the conspiracy theorist geek and Dinklage as the rogue criminal who can kick ass. Each is great in the roles and work well off Sandler as team leader. One of the best parts of the movie is when they all need to all work together to defeat Pac-Man as he destroys downtown New York. It’s a great scene in the movie, very funny and feels like you’re right in the middle of the game itself.
The special effects are amazing. The effect masters who made these video game characters comes to life on screen should get an award. They look great as they keep their 80s feel and appearance, but have a modern edge to them that feels real. At one point, due to plot, Qbert becomes a member of the team and assists with information. He looks great. He interacts with actors on screen flawlessly and adds some really good comedy to the flick at certain points.
If there were any flaws in the movie it would be that Chris Columbus directs the movie. He really isn’t a director known for his “action” movies, so to give him a movie with quite a lot of action is an odd move. But he has managed to learn over the years how to better himself as a director. He does a good job here with the action, his dialogue scenes still need work in that he always keeps with the simple three side triangle coverage, but that’s ok, keep it simple so the audience knows what’s going on. I was surprised and delighted to see he has learned new tricks since the first two Harry Potter movies.
Pixels is great, a fun summer movie that the whole family can go to and enjoy; funny characters with funny dialogue, great effects, enjoyable music and tons of 80s retro themes to keep any 80s fans happy. Over all, this is a win.