Pixels

I am one of those people who don´t hate Adam Sandler. He have done some good films.

Really you might say ?

Yes he have, does anyone remember the 90´s classic Happy Gillmore, or his most serious acting role so far in Reign Over Me ? These 2 films are 2 of those you have to see, if you have not seen any of his films. Adam Sandler is a funny guy, but he can also be a pain in the ass. We have seen that in Grown Ups 2, one of the worst sequels i have ever seen. That´s My Boy was a good film compared to Grown Ups 2, and it was even better than Just Go With It with Jennifer Aniston. I know a lot of people talked bad about That´s My Boy, but at least you could laugh in that film, in Grown Ups 2 you wanted to punch everyone. Adam Sandler have always done so many comedies, some of them are simply too much. Big Daddy is one film that should be mentioned more often, as a classic. Limp Bizkit is also included in the soundtrack, so of course we know quality is guaranteed. Anger Managment was also pretty funny with Jack Nicholson, i was surprised to see that they worked on screen together. You Don´t Mess With Zohan is also a funny comedy, about a very special hair dresser. I always feel interested to see Sandler try different characters, that are not his usual choice. Reign Over Me really proved that he can act, and he should have been nominated for many awards for that role. It should have been a bigger hit at the box office, but i suppose people were skeptical to see him do a serious role. I have a feeling Adam Sandler will always be stuck in the comedy genre, because he knows that this is where people want to see him do. The Cobbler was one of his more serious attempts to try something different, but it did not turn out to be that good. So here we are with his new film Pixels, mixing an alien invasion with classic video arcade game characters coming to life. Since i grew up playing classic arcade games, such as Pac Man and Donkey Kong, i liked the idea of aliens using these classic games into an alien invasion, it is definetely a different approach. But would this combination really work ? I decided to give Pixels a chance at the local cinema. Is this the best Adam Sandler film in a long time, or is this just another release, almost as bad as Grown Ups 2 ?

The year is 1982. Young boys Sam Brenner and Will Cooper are two 13 year old video game lovers, who spend a lot of time in the local arcade. Brenner enters an Arcade World Championship. As he is winning every game, he is finally ready to meet his most dangerous oponent Eddie Plant, in the finals with the chosen game Donkey Kong. Brenner can not keep up, and loses the game. Eddie Plant wins the Championship, and becomes very popular. In present day, Sam Brenner ( Adam Sandler ) is working for a company who inställs home theatre systems. Will Cooper ( Kevin James ) is now the President Of The United States, trying to run the country in the best possible way. One day a military base in Guam is attacked. The Soldiers try to fight back, with no chance at all. It seems as an Alien invasion have begun. Will Contact his old friend Sam, to show him that the aliens are using classic video games characters to attack, in this case a game called Galaga. Since the invasion is growing, and Sam knows how to kill video game characters, they are forced to contact Eddie Plant , to ask for his help. Since he is locked up in prison, they manage to find a way to get him on board. With a team of chosen people, who will be trained to fight aliens, they are all ready to defend planet Earth.

If you don´t like Adam Sandler, you might as well stop reading here. Pixels will not change your mind. On the other hand, if you love classic arcade games, and 80´s comedy influences with Adam Sandler, then you might actually have a good time. This is a stupid comedy in some ways, but an entertaining one. This is actually one of his funniest films in some time, mainly because there is actually a funny idea to make classic video game characters attack humanity. The special effects are not as awful as you might expect, even if some details could have been improved. I watched this film in the Cinema with no expectations at all, since i thought it would be terrible. So i am happy to say that i laughed more than i expected, maybe because i love the 80´s influences brought in here. We have some funny characters here, especially Peter Dinklage, known from Game Of Thrones. His rude personality with his Hillbilly hair style, is a great combination. Adam Sandler is actually pretty good here, also rude of course but manage to combine his usual style while being an ordinary middle class worker. I like the fact that Sandler have done many portraits of being different middle class people, either being on low paid jobs, or just being an ordinary guy. In real life we know he makes money, and he could have easily chosen to play rich people in his films also, instead he do the other way around. Kevin James is also here, being like a sidekick while fighting against aliens. He is either good or bad, but works in the role as the president of the United States. Director Chris Columbus is a legend for many people who grew up in the 90´s. He directed the first 2 Home Alone movies, and those are classics for many families even until this day. He also gave us the first 2 Harry Potter films, so we know he can handle entertainment for all ages. Pixels is perhaps his most violent film, next to Percy Jackson & The Olympians. The biggest difference is that there is much more comedy here, than the first Percy Jackson film delivered. You can tell he must have loved to play classic video games, and he does a pretty good job, bringing the classic video games become reality. Once the action kicks in, and the guys begin to fight back with their special made guns, we do have a good time. If you love original and intelligent scripts, Pixels will definetely not be in your taste. However, if you just want to laugh and watch Sandler getting silly, you might actually see that he still knows what he is doing with the right story. Pixels is nothing unique, or special, but as an action sci fi comedy, Pixels do what it is set out to do, give entertainement. I kind of miss the classic games from Nintendo and Sega now, those were the good days of a positive childhood. Anyone remember Golden Axe ? Thats my best memories of knowledge.

Rating: DDD