A Pixels Review? Oh no ...

I know what you’re thinking: “Smiles, this is a gaming blog! Why are you talking about movies??” Why yes, my outspoken reader, Pixels is indeed a movie. BUT, the main premise is about video games. I’ve already talked about how video games and movies shouldn’t mix, but Hollywood still hasn’t taken my post seriously. And with Adam Sandler (creator and star of the “critically acclaimed” Jack & Jill) backing this up, what could possibly go wrong?

 

 

Surprisingly, not as much as I would have thought. While not a good movie, it wasn’t a train wreck -- Pixels sits in between ok and meh. We’ll get into some aspects that didn’t work, but let’s first talk about what Pixels did right.

The origin of Pixels comes from a YouTube short with the same title. Basically, an invasion of arcade characters like Pac-Man and Donkey Kong come to life and terrorize the city, eventually turning the entire world into a pixel. Essentially, that’s the plot of the big-screen version … except with awkward sexual tension between Sandler’s character, Brenner, and a recently divorced mom.

 

"Both our spouses cheated on us and I just met you. Let's make out."

I will say that the fight scenes between Brenner’s crew and the pixels bring a unique interpretation of these classic arcade games. The excitement during the Centipede and Donkey Kong scenes captured the emotions I felt when facing off against these great adversaries. Regardless of graphics, a good game makes you feel like you’re a part of the action -- that’s exactly how I felt when watching these scenes. CGI definitely helped, but Pixels does a good job making these classics into an exhilarating thrill ride.

Game on.

I will admit that I had a decent laugh throughout the movie. While some jokes fell flat and were outright stupid, Josh Gad and Peter Dinklage get points for an outlandish performance. The humor goes into some murky territory, but there wasn’t anything that rivaled Jack & Jill’s level of disgust.  

While the action was good and the humor was decent, the storyline bothered me on a few levels. One detail that REALLY bothered me was the dog from Duck Hunt was in this movie. Usually, I’d want all the cameos, but a big plot point of Pixels was that these games were all arcade titles from 1982 and before. Duck Hunt wasn’t an arcade, it was a NES title. There was no way the invaders could have learned about Duck Hunt! In fact, it was mentioned multiple times that the aliens received arcade footage from a NASA probe launched in 1982. It wouldn’t have been such an issue if the movie didn’t place so much emphasis on this plot point.

My face in the theater.

What irked me the most was how the movie itself viewed gamers. Brenner is victorious simply because he’s played the games before. Outside of gaming, everyone believes that Brenner’s skills amount to nothing. The issue is, he BELIEVES THEM! There isn’t any character development that changes this notion -- this idea is reinforced throughout the entire movie. I personally find this absurd! Speaking from experience, I know that skills I’ve learned in video games are completely applicable in real life. Sure, I’m not commanding plant people to gather my ship parts on a daily basis, but I apply the same lessons of time management and decision-making I’ve learned in Pikmin.

Or, you know, we could run around in circles.

It’s unbelievable that Brenner found no way to apply his pattern-finding skills to break away from his life of mediocrity. And the fact that for 30 years he’s been so distraught about getting second-place at the 1982 Video Game World Championship? Please! If I gave up after losing a game, I wouldn’t be writing this today. Brenner is a poor excuse for a gamer. Instead of being a story about never giving up, the climax revolves around Brenner gaining confidence after learning that he was cheated out of the World Championship. Pixels’ plot could have been compelling, but instead is a complete cop out.

Yeah, the story’s terrible. But as far as video game movies go, it’s not half bad. The action's pretty decent, and I'm just grateful the movie wasn't far worse. I don’t recommend that you go see it, but you won’t regret it if you do. If you can stand overgrown man-children and weird fetishes regarding Serena Williams and Martha Stewart, feel free to give this movie a shot. But the original short? That, I highly recommend!