Pixels

RATING: C

Usually, "awesome" and "dumb" are two things not like the other. Sometimes, however, they can be put together; we have such things as "awesome dumb" movies. Or, in a more long-winded way of explaining it, movies that are actually pretty ridiculous and dumb but are still somewhat decent and sort of develop a "so bad it's good" feel. Pixels is one of those movies. 

This movie is about what would happen if early 80's arcade game characters/games decided to attack us. More specifically, if we sent a time capsule filled with footage of video games was sent into space and a race of aliens took it as a declaration of war, and were somehow able to transform themselves into said arcade characters/games. Specifically: Pac-Man, Centipede, Galaga, Donkey Kong, et cetera. That's right, for this film, you definitely have to put on your "suspension of disbelief" glasses. 

So, who can combat these alien video game things? Not the Army, their weapons are useless against them. Instead, U.S. President Kevin James (er, William Cooper) is forced to call upon the video game champions from the '80's--in other words, the nerds--which includes Sam Brenner (Adam Sandler), Eddie (Peter Dinklage), and Ludlow. And with the help of some random technology that can somehow stop these aliens, they will defeat them. 

As you might have guessed in part from the cast, Pixels actually really isn't an action/adventure movie (though it has some elements of it) as it is a comedy. A comedy in that it has some prominent comedy actors, and in that its plot makes no sense and is funny instead. Again, the "so bad it's good" element. 

The humor does range from hilarious to weird to tasteless, as is to be expected. That said, the hilarious moments are indeed hilarious, as a bit of amusing dialogue and pop culture references abound. The other highs of the film include its actually mostly clever visuals involving the pixelated aliens and some of the action sequences involving the gaming characters (the Pac-Man chase is definitely a highlight of the film). 

Of course, the film does definitely have its issues. There is a fair amount of weird/dumb humor as well, and Peter Dinklage manages to deliver a shockingly annoying performance. And as said before, the movie itself is rather nonsensical. It is really only going to appeal to a few demographics, such as the old-school gaming fans, and those who can manage to sit and enjoy a "stupid fun" movie and laugh at the actually funny stuff and laugh at how dumb the movie is sometimes. 

Pixels certainly isn't for everyone; many will find it either too ridiculous or possibly lowbrow to find it worth sitting through. But there are those who will be able to sit through it and somewhat enjoy it as I did for what it is, and I really don't think the guys making this movie were expecting much else from its audience. 

Postscript: Wait a minute, Chris Columbus directed this? The guy who made Home Alone, the first two Harry Potter movies, and the first Percy Jackson movie directed *this?* Wow. Guy has some directorial range.