Review of Pixels

Initial Thought: I love video games. I have ever since I was kid. Obviously I started playing Nintendo games which have quite a few represented besides the typical arcade games. I thought it was a freaking awesome idea. When I saw the trailer I was even more excited. Due to pretty much working all the time I hadn't any time to go see it. Now I finally had the chance so I took it.

Characters/Acting: Well it's an Adam Sandler movie so you pretty much have a mix bag of talent with his usuals like Kevin James, both Sandler and James' families, and the horrible Nick Swardson among others. Here though we got some heavy hitters with the likes of Peter Dinklage, Brian Cox, and Sean Bean. I'm not too huge a fan of Ashley Benson, but she doesn't bother me. The rest of the people here are alright. I think Eddie and Ludlow are definitely my favorites here. They got all the good jokes and charisma. I thought Brenner was a pretty cool too, but Adam Sandler just isn't as funny as he used to be. It was definitely hard to see Kevin James as the president of the United States. Q*Bert is probably the most adorable character.

Story: Video game experts are recruited by the military to fight 1980s-era video game characters who've attacked New York. I enjoyed all the little video game references that are strewn about the whole thing. I'm quite familiar with it all even if I haven't played them all. The battles are pretty epic to watch. I mean seriously playing real life versions of video games would be so much fun. It would also be pretty freaking scary considering we don't get extra lives. The final battle is just plain epic and I actually liked the version of We Will Rock You that joined it. The ending was pretty amusing and a little disturbing. You will see what I mean.

Directing/Writing: Chris Columbus is usually a pretty fun director to watch. I mean he brought us Home Alone, Mrs. Doubtfire, and started off the Harry Potter series. He did however also bring I Love You, Beth Cooper and Home Alone 2 which weren't very good. Tim Herlihy seems to be a major contributor to the screenplays of just about every Adam Sandler comedy. He also has a role in every film he writes. I have seen all but a film he has done which isn't out yet. He hasn't written one I hadn't to some extent enjoyed. I haven't seen too many of Timothy Dowling's films, but Role Models was really funny. Though Just Go With It was pretty average. I'm hoping this is on the Role Models spectrum. It's always inspiring to have a short get made into a feature film. So I bet Patrick Jean was happy with it. I wonder how much input he had with the writing.

Final Thoughts: I don't get why this movie got so much hate. Sure Adam Sandler and Kevin James haven't been too amazing lately, but they have made some enjoyable stuff. This happens to be one of them. I do think it helps to have the talent of Peter Dinklage and the rising Josh Gad. The music is pretty fun. I have to say though this is definitely a dream movie for gamers for sure. I'm talking about the ones who appreciate good classics too. This is so underrated in my opinion.