Pixels (2015) - Review

I just finished watching Pixels and I must say, it is a very fun movie and even better when you know the gaming references. I don't know why so many people and sites pass it off as a horrible movie. I think its just people just hate Adam Sandler and think he is irrelevant nowadays. I however think he is still a funny guy and I thoroughly enjoy his movies from old favourites The Waterboy to recent films That's My Boy.

So why watch it if so many people hate it and Adam Sandler's regular high school politically incorrect jokes are thrown in for good measure? Well if you like Wreck-It Ralph I would say you would like this too but just be careful about the amount of course language in this film. While this is Happy Madison Production film, it is bankrolled by Sony and man did they manage to get some great actors and video/arcade game stars together in the mix.

People that grew up in the 80s and 90s will absolutely be taken back by just how many arcade game characters there are. We have Donkey Kong from Nintendo, Pac-Man from Namco, Centipede from Atari, the lovable Q*bert and many more! How Nintendo let them licence Donkey Kong and Duck Hunt is beyond me but damn it was good seeing them included in this movie.

Story wise, at first you would think it was straight out from a typical alien invasion movie. Aliens come down and try to take over the world. While that is true, instead you have a movie that starts off with an arcade competition and all the best plays are recorded and sent off into space. Many years pass and aliens have received the recording and thinks its a declaration of war so they arrive at Earth and gives the humans three trials around the world for them to pass. Win two out of three and the aliens will just go scattering home.

This is where Sam (Adam Sandler) and his friends Ludlow, Eddie and President Cooper (Josh Gad, Peter Dinklage and Kevin James respectively) come in and try to save the world by taking on the aliens with their 80s arcade power skills!

I really enjoyed this movie and has some wonderful set pieces (especially the Pac-Man chase through Manhattan). If you are a fan of seeing retro games on the big screen and don't mind some cheesy moments, this is the film for you! Check out the trailer!