PIXELS

Director: Chris Columbus
Writers: Tim Herlihy, Timothy Dowling
Stars: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Michelle Monaghan
Strengths: Acting, Comedy
Weakness: Story
Runtime: 106 minutes
Rating: 3/5

PLOT: When aliens misinterpret video feeds of classic arcade games as a declaration of war, they attack the Earth in the form of the video games.

REVIEW: For those who have watched previous Sandler movies, the basic formula of rags to riches would be instantly recognizable. Here we see a younger version of Sandler's character and his compadres competing in a world arcade gaming championship and his plans afterwards. However things don't pan out as planned as the reigning champ manages to clinch the title and their gameplay recorded and placed onboard a NASA deep space probe. The movie then fast forwards to the present where Sandler's best friend from the arcade is now somehow a president, albeit a bit of a buffoon whereas Sandler is a glorified cable installer. Suddenly there are attacks around the world from an unknown force. After close inspection, it is discovered to be old arcade games brought to life by an alien race who have discovered the probe and misinterprets it as a declaration of war. Suddenly all the skills and weapons of the military are deemed useless and the fate of the world now hangs on the best arcade gamers in the world.

Adam Sandler is known to work with only close friends and family, so naturally the cast includes Sandler movie regulars Kevin James, his wife Jackie Sandler and his children, and others. Some notable new members of the cast include Sean Bean and Peter Dinklage out of Game of Thrones, Brian Cox, and guest appearances by Serena Williams and Martha Stewart. The acting from the entire cast has been superb and no complains can be made here.

The problem unfortunately lies with the repetition of the same formula that we see in most Sandler movies. Sure it's dressed up as an epic adventure movie where you save the world through the skills of a gamer but if you've watched many Sandler movies, the pattern is too obvious to miss and you would end up muttering subconsciously "Not Again". If this doesn't bother you, then the movie isn't all that bad, although the humour seems to be much scarcer, possibly lost between all the scientific jargons thrown around here and there. Despite these problems, it's still a good watch and if you are a fan of Adam Sandler, then this movie should be a no-brainer.

Reviewed by Intisab Shahriyar