​FILMS

pixels

2015 review number 132:

Pixels: (Action/Comedy/Science Fiction): 68 out of 100: OK, I might lose all credibility here. I must admit that I'm an unabashed Adam Sandler fan. He's my guilty pleasure when it comes to actors. He stars in a dumb, mindless, juvenile take on 1980s video games, but hey, it's entertaining! The critics' reviews have been damning but I don't always agree with the critics. There's only been a couple of Sandler movies I've hated and this sure isn't one of them. This is more family friendly than the usual Sandler movie and will please those who grew up in the era of 1980s video games like I did. It wouldn't be a Sandler movie though without some crass comments and situations.

 

The movie begins in 1982 where we see Brenner face off against Eddie to determine the video game champion of the world. Brenner is supported by his best friend Cooper. The modern day setting sees Cooper (Kevin James) as the President of the United States and Brenner (Adam Sandler), now a home theatre installer. On one of his jobs, Brenner meets up with Violet (Michelle Monaghan), who unbenownst to him, is a colonel on President Cooper's team. Earth is being attacked by aliens who have adopted their warfare strategies based on 1980s video arcade games and it's up to Brenner along with Violet, childhood friend Ludlow (Josh Gad) and enemy Eddie (Peter Dinklage) who has been released from prison, to prevent the invasion.

 

Pixels won't be receiving any acting awards, unless you count the Razzies as an award. There's a couple of over the top performances from Dinklage and Gad. Sandler tones it down in the shouting and abuse departments but if you don't like him, he's not going to change your mind after seeing this movie. There's a bit of subjectivity on my behalf when it comes to rating Sandler's performances so you won't hear a bad word from me about his performance here. There's a few fun cameos including scenes with Serena Williams and Martha Stewart playing themselves and there's clever use of 1980s icons like Madonna and Hall & Oates to relay the messages of the aliens.

 

The visual effects are cheesy but they do actually represent the video game images from the 1980s. The effects team has a ball with the computer-generated effects when there is mayhem on the streets in the final battle. Meanwhile, the sound effects are convincing in mimicking the noises of the games from that era.

 

It's definitely an '80s retro feel with Chris Columbus in the director's chair. He wrote the screenplay of several '80s staple films like Gremlins and The Goonies. He keeps things moving along in this production although he is not helped by a lull in the story between the penultimate and final battles. This gives the viewer time to think about how cheesy this movie really is. When there is action on the screen, it's easy to forget about all the negatives and simply enjoy the popcorn nature of the film.

 

There's a few glaring errors that will not go unnoticed by 1980s aficionados. When the movie begins in 1982 there's a reference to wanting girlfriends like Madonna and Samantha Fox. They were actually not popular until 1983-84. Another error featured a video game contestant who adopts the crane stance from The Karate Kid which was released in 1984. Also, we see a Smurf video image but it wasn't a popular arcade game back then.

 

Pixels could have been an absolute disaster but it ended up being enjoyable entertainment. You'll be able to connect with it more if you grew up on video arcade games in the 1980s. It's a pleasant diversion that doesn't require you to do too much thinking.

 

Starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Michelle Monaghan, Peter Dinklage, Josh Gad and Brian Cox

(106 minutes)

Parental advice: Coarse language, violence and sexual references

Additional scene during or after credits: Yes, during the credits the highlights of the movie are played back in 1980s style computer graphics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CYMC5b8KLE (Movie trailer)

(Reviewed on Friday 4th September, 2015)

 

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