“Pixels” is about Sam Brenner (Adam Sandler) a 1980s videogame geek who, while being a master in his youth, seems to have hit rock bottom since.

His best friend since childhood, Will Cooper (Kevin James), is president of the United States, while he works at a knockoff of Best Buy’s Geek Squad. But then aliens threaten the world with the videogames that Sam had mastered in his youth. So Sam, along with another childhood friend, Ludlow Lamonsoff (Josh Gad), and childhood nemesis Eddie Plant (Peter Dinklage) must save the world using their extraordinary knowledge of videogames.

“Pixels” may not be the best movie out there, but it’s also not the worst. It’s funny and ironic and it appeals to both young children and their parents who grew up with the videogames that Sam and his friends fight against.

This “Ghostbusters”-esque movie isn’t half-bad. The movie didn’t spend half of the screen time trying to prove to you that everything going on was real – the filmmalkers understood the absurdity of the situation. It’s all or nothing. You either accept the fact that light aliens are trying to destroy the Earth using the videogames from 1982 or you don’t. Same goes with Kevin James being president.

The only really bad thing in the movie is Ludlow Lamonsoff. While Josh Gad is a great comedian, Ludlow came off as less awkward-yet-lovable geek and more creepy-and-obsessive nerd. His obsession with Lady Lisa (the main character of the game Dojo Quest) took a turn for the worst. He had a shrine dedicated to her, and if that doesn’t scream creepy, I don’t know what does.

The movie is deserving of at least a 5 out of 10 scoring, with the obviously childish humor, the basic romance plotline, and Kevin James making this movie worthwhile for anyone looking for a fun, basic, Adam Sandler movie.

–July 24, 2015–