Pixels

Pixels was surprisingly better than I was going to give it credit for; maybe my low expectations for it had me enjoy it more. Either way, in case you don’t know, Pixels is about this alien race that received a time capsule from the 80’s and interpreted as a message of war. So they went and created classic video game characters to take over the Earth. Insert Adam Sandler and his crew who were arcade legends back in the day to try and stop this force. Sandler’s main foe turned ally is none other than Peter Dinklage. Kevin James plays the President of the United States and Josh Gad rounds out their crew. The story is straightforward from what I mentioned before; the aliens have chosen to give us three lives/chances to save our planet. Sandler and friends take over with some twists and turns until they come out victorious. No one is truly ever in danger, but they make it seem fun when Pac-Man is chasing them down in their ‘ghosts’. Overall, the story does its job and I couldn’t ask anything more of it. Sure there are plotholes once in awhile, but it’s a summer comedy so I’m not expecting smart or consistent writing. It provides good laughs and blink or you’ll miss it cameos from certain game characters. Sean Bean even makes an appearance as a British general; and there are some other cameo’s of real people that are great.The effects and overall look of the movie compliment the tone I think they were trying to make. The aliens would take form in 3D pixel form and anything they touched would be pixelated as well. Maybe it’s because I saw it at a drive in theater that had a double feature so I really felt like I got my money’s worth, but I feel like this is definitely something I’m gonna hold onto for a little bit. I may even get this on DVD when it comes out; maybe not full priced but still will consider buying it eventually. So if you find yourself near a theater during matinee and want a good sense of nostalgia and easy laughs check this movie out.