User reviews

I'm not sure why such a low rating. This is easily one of the better Sandler flicks in my book, and there aren't actually that many I like. It's fun, nothing's taken too seriously, it's well-acted and well-directed, there's a minimum of the obligatory shock humor that seems to invade all of his movies. I mean, you could probably let the kids watch and that stuff will go over their heads. Maybe, maybe not. Watch it yourself first.

I watched it a second time and still enjoyed it. That doesn't happen all that often.

A fun movie, with bright actors. Entertaining and authentic. Worth surely the view

A movie that as Deadpool and Wolverine is all about fun and have a real sense... even if in some ways has its owns sense, the movie is pure fans for gamer lovers so I don't get why everybody accepted the marvel Deadpool and Wolverine movie and not this one. Probably times are changed but if you are gonna watched after 2024 and you love games as people love marvel, you are gonna have fun watching this movie which in my opinion has been not understood since probably many people are not old games lovers or I don't know why. So, this movie is promoted cause it's about game lovers and fun, as Deadpool and Wolverine is about the two heroes fighting, Deadpool's jokes, and Marvel fanbase. However, contrary to the marvel movie, Pixels was not well seen by the critics and most imports by people. However, now times are changed and you can see many people' s reviews talking about it. Talking about the fact this movie has been underrated and in order to understand it you have to admit that " why a movie cannot be just fan and for game lovers ?!." To conclude if you wanna have fun with some chilly and fun actors, you miss old movies and old games, and you have something light to watch; this movie will give you a perfect movie night alone or with whoever you want to :)

Aliens in the guise of video game characters prepare to take over the world and a group of 80s arcade gamers re-team to stop the threat.

From the director of Home Alone, Chris Columbus' Pixels plays as a mix of Wreck it Ralph, The Lego Movie and channels the likes of Independence Day and is reminiscent of Ghostbusters to name a few. This highly under-appreciated scifi comedy is a feature-length adaptation of Patrick Jean's video- game themed short. There's something for everyone but if you're a 30 something or more you'll find it hard not to like this retro game blast of a movie complete with arcade slot machine sounds.

Opening in 1982 those with an appreciation of the late 70s and early 80s surely can't help but love the throwback gags. It then fast forwards to the present day with Adam Sandler, Kevin James and Peter Dinklage's characters all grown up. It's fast paced fun with aliens disguised as Hervé Villechaize, Madonna and President Reagan. The contemporary cheap quips about Gandalf and Harry Potter also hit the mark. As the grown up nerd gamers assist the President (James) to save the world it's good natured with a flood of one liners, fitting effects and a soundtrack emulating a bygone era. It's packed with references from StarWars to Tron, writers Tim Herlihy and Timothy Dowling induce nostalgia successfully.

The supporting cast include the likes of Brian Cox, Sean Bean and Dan Ackroyd to name a few. There's also some celebrity cameos including Serena Williams and Martha Stewart. Characters from classic arcade games such as Paperboy, Space Invaders, Pac-Man and Donkey Kong among many others appear.

Despite scattered anachronisms (who's checking) Columbus' Pixels is sorely underrated, it has great visuals and perfect comedy timing. It also has subtext about today's games. It's very entertaining, even if your 're not a retro gamer or and 8-bit lover, it still comes recommended.

There are plenty of movies related to the video games. The 80s movie 'Tron' was one of those first I have seen, followed by many. But the recent one 'Wreck-it Ralph' was the game changer in the modern animation/CGI which led to another similar flick, 'The Lego Movie'. Lego and 'Toy Story' are the toys, not the video games, but very close to this theme and I'm very happy that Hollywood made this film for the guys like me who grew up playing them.

The film had a very simple story with the great visuals. Sometimes simple is very good rather going for hi-tech. Especially those who played these games in their middle-age back in the 80s could be now very old and they might suffer to understand the film due to the technology/terms/phrase gap, if it matched to the todays hi-tech hi-resolution video games. But the youngsters of the present era didn't understand that who are the backbone of any movie's success and that's why this movie sunk in the ocean of criticism.

My childhood and teenage was the late 90s and early 00s respectively, So 8bit games are on the edge of revolution. My favourites were the races and brick games, especially 'Duck Hunt', because I get a gun, not joystick. So this movie really brought me those sweet memories. A decade ago I used those unique sounds and music for message alerts in my 2G mobile phone(s).

I know recently Sandler had hit the rock bottom in his acting career, but, he's kind of lifted after the decent film 'The Cobbler' and excellent multistarrer 'Men, Women & Children'. This is not a massive comeback to what he's known for, comedies. But, sailing on average or above in better than falling downward in the career graph. To me this film was a better one, an above average, obviously not a masterpiece.

Guest appearances were unexpected, but was not that effective, except Ashley Benson, who was so hot in her 2-3 odd minutes. This film is not for everyone. Youngsters and oldsters never understand it. If you were born in the 70s and 80s, then probably you will know what to expect. Even it does not deliver to your expectation, definitely gives satisfaction for bringing those lost memories of our childhood.

7/10

Every single moment of this movie embarrassed me, there only a few redeeming qualities in this filth and that was the admittedly eye popping visuals in terms of the arcade games and the charming performance of Peter Dinklage from Game of Thrones, that is where the positives end for this waste of film. This movie has no idea what it wants to be or who it's target audience is because it plays out like a typical Adam Sandler vehicle just with video games added in so he can cash in on gamer's nostalgia for arcade games. None of the jokes were funny and were underwhelming, Josh Gad annoyed the crap out of me, there is absolutely no love put into this movie and is the very definition of a missed opportunity, there is so much that could have been done with the concept yet the potential was disposed of just so that Sandler can continue to steal our money with predictable idiotic humor that isn't even witty, sarcastic, clever, or self-referential or even a shred of respect for the classic games put on display. I felt embarrassed for the talent that was wasted for this film such as director Chris Columbus, Michelle Monaghan, Sean Bean, and Peter Dinklage, they deserved better than this. In conclusion I hated this movie, it had massive potential but instead massively disappointed me. In short don't see it at all, you have much better choices in theatres right now. My grade: F

Just watched this with my movie theatre-working friend who had watched this before and enjoyed it. I did too, though I knew this wasn't gonna be any greats shakes and it wasn't. There were some funny lines at the beginning and some of the video game gags did go a little well. Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Josh Gad, Peter Dinklage, and Michelle Monaghan did well with their roles. When I saw the arcade and all those video games during the 1982 sequence, part of me felt some nostalgia for the times I spent with my brother and his friend playing those games at that kind of place. About the ending sequence taking place one year later: lame. Though really, this was pretty enjoyable so on that note, Pixels is worth a look.

Please don't feed the ego or family of Adam Sandler. Look, I genuinely like Sandler. I am a fan of many of his movies, but this one is not a good movie. He plays a video game nerd that had a chance of making it big as a child, only to come in second place, and thus be regulated to a life of drudgery. Having your best friend become president and still want to hang out with you doesn't seem to qualify as "cool" or "awesome." Just tedious. Now, as an adult, he works as a NERD, a computer guy based on the Geek squad, and installs electronics in homes (when not hanging with the leader of the free world). Aliens attack our planet, using our old video games as the basis of their attacks, and it is up to Sandler, Dinklage, and Lamansoff, all three contenders from a video game competition from 30 years ago, to save the world. There are so many problems with this movie. It's clunky. It's stupid. It can only appeal to small children, and even they must have had some traumatic brain injury to be able to enjoy this movie. Given the premise, of video game superstars fending off video game monsters, you have to know that children are going to be attending in droves. Make it kid friendly. This movie doesn't try to cater to them--a question of what to call a male maggot was answered with, "Mangina?" a cross between maggot and vagina. Funny? No. Not at all. Did the children laugh? They didn't understand. Now...am I supposed to explain to my 8 year old what a "mangina" is? The rest of the cast just phoned in their parts. I paid 17 dollars for popcorn and soda, and the the tickets were free. I could have stayed at home and watched it for free in a couple of months, and would have saved 17 bucks. Please, don't make the same mistake I did.

I enjoyed it, Pixels is much better than people say. It has some really funny parts, and if you grew up in the 80's and played some old games you will like this I am betting.

Of course there are some silly parts, but that's how all Adam Sandler movies are. It reminded me a bit of Billy Madison or Happy Gilmore. It was fun to watch.

Ignore the reviews from critics, the SJW's these days will find anything to complain about and they did with this movie too. They want everything, whether it be a movie, video game, or comic book to cater to them. Anything they find offensive immediately they claim to be insulting and they will overlook anything good about the movie just so they can talk negatively about it.

Never listen to an SJW when it comes to reviews, they are awful critics.

Watch a movie, and judge it for yourself.

Disappointingly bad movie.

The CGI is kind of cool, but the performances are flat, the comedic timing is off, and Sandler just doesn't seem to be making an effort at all(although this may just be his style). In fact, I'm sure that part of the dialogue was either a first-take or else ad lib. How do you get Sean Bean, Adam Sandler, and a few other well-known actors to participate in something so lazy? They could have used a studio audience or a laugh track.

I think I know where this movie came from. Someone decided to market a nostalgia film (1980s arcade games) to fathers who have boys aged 12-14. The humor is not sophisticated enough for a normally developed adult intellect, but it also is not appropriate for small children with all the adult themes. It doesn't work. I felt icky watching it.

There are a number of 10-star reviews on here. Could the studio have hired people to write them?

I saw some bad reviews on here AFTER watching the movie, so I just thought I would add my own opinion. Why would you hate on a movie like this? Especially if you're my age and remember all these classic games. The cameos were outstanding, and I didn't expect it to win any Oscars. Man, some people need to lighten up. Was Ghostbusters trashed like this?

The immense hate for "Pixels" has me asking a serious question for those who hate the film, did you hate the concept or did you simply find yourself refusing any inkling of positivity or humor whilst watching the film upon seeing Adam Sandler as the top-billed actor? I ask this question as somebody who finds myself at odds with Sandler on most of his projects, but also somebody willing to admit his achievements and provide him with credit when he deserves it.

I ask this because it seems the good majority of the public, and critics for that matter, have given up on Adam Sandler, ostensibly just waiting to hate the next project he's working on before it's even released. The negative buzz around "Pixels," similar to "Blended," Sandler's last feature, started early and never let up. While Sandler has given himself plenty of reasons (and films, for that matter) to dislike him and his work, I feel under the work of any other actor besides Sandler and his production company, "Pixels" would've at least garnered a handful of defenders.

"Pixels" is a brazenly silly sound and lights show, one that works predominately because of its willingness to exhaust its premise and use many actors with differing personalities to carry the entire show. That, right there, is about all I can say for the film: it's cheeky, it's relentlessly goofy, but it's also just funny enough and adventurous enough to recommend to anyone searching for that piece of entertainment in the cool multiplexes during this hot summer.

The film opens with Sam Brenner and Will Cooper, two best friends who spend their days at the arcade, where Sam discovers his incredible skill for video games. Will encourages him to compete in the first video game championship of 1982, which will be recorded and sent into space by NASA, along with other artifacts. At the tournament, however, Sam winds up losing to Eddie Plant (Peter Dinklage), a cocky, professional video gamer.

Decades later, Sam (Adam Sandler) works as an installer of software and his pal Will (Kevin James) goes on to be The President of the United States, still both very close friends despite their difference in power. One day, Will calls Sam into the office to observe an attack on a military base in Guam by what looks to be the video game pixels and characters from the arcade game Galaga. Baffled by the insanity of this possibility, Sam reconnects with Ludlow Lamonsoff (Josh Gad), a pudgy conspiracy theorist whom he met at at the video game tournament back in the 1980's. Ludlow shows Sam a video claiming to be sent from aliens that the video tape of the tournament was seen as a declaration of war, prompting the aliens to send the video game characters from classic arcade games to attack the world. The world gets "three lives," so to speak, which are lost if one particular battle (video game) is lost. Three lost battles and the Earth is terminated.

Desperate and out of options, Will orders Sam, Ludlow, Eddie, and his unique weapons specialist Lieutenant Colonel Violent van Patten (Michell Monaghan) to fight the pixelated monsters, which come in the form of Centipede, Pac-Man, and eventually Donkey Kong.

It shouldn't take more than a minute of watching the trailer for "Pixels" to decide if you'd want to see something like this. Those who do, if they view the film as the basic summer entertainment that the film is trying to be, will find a perfectly acceptable and balanced dose of fun. "Pixels" also works as a showcase for a divisive array of talent. We have Sandler, who is surprisingly very relaxed and nonchalant throughout the whole film, James, who is toned down several notches from his usual self as well, Gad, who bears the same kind of energy Sandler did in his heyday, only with much more personality, and Dinklage, who's narcissism and brazen attitude effectively make his character.

Finally, "Pixels" works because it doesn't take itself too seriously; it knows exactly what it needs to do to succeed and that is to be a nonstop display of action with a great visual scheme and characters that are at least somewhat fun to be around. This may not be a showstopper of a film, but it's something that definitely caters to a season of films where numerous other, lesser films find themselves being defended while "Pixels" sits and suffers in a "guilt by association" manner.

Having been a teenager/20s person in the 80s, I was VERY familiar with all the games used in this film so I thought it was great fun. I suppose though, that if one has no history with these games, it may not be so for everyone - but the special effects were VERY well done and the acting was just fine. Yes, even Adam Sandler. Although it's true that some of the jokes fell flat that can be said of many, many films, so I won't hold that against it. I enjoyed it, and would watch it again so please don't believe all the anti-hype and go see it for yourself. Personally, I like and own several A.S. films. Not all of them but a fair amount, and I find them to be very funny.

Note: I saw the film in standard format not 3D or IMAX.

***Potential spoiler for the ending of the film though I think most readers will already know what that ending is before seeing the movie if readers are in the correct frame of mind to view the film.***

I enjoyed this movie! In fact, it surprised me with its depth of themes that I was not expecting from a jaunt down gaming memory lane.

Brenner's honest portrayal of male self-respect and leadership and the effect his portrayal has on those around him is strength of character personified and is a robust genuine male role model for young boys and adult men.

The arcade scene was a powerful positive statement to which all children of all ages can relate, and, if taken to heart, empowers and liberates children from one of the greatest fears of childhood. The scene was done in a most natural way. It was a showing without the telling which is what excellent story writing is meant to be.

I found a richness of human connection in this film that didn't insult my intelligence and was humorous and believable against the backdrop of a fanciful circumstance.

Predictable plot? Yes, but genuine enough to bring a smile to the face and enjoy the familiarity of that plot like a favorite amusement park ride that you want to ride over and over again. Some plot holes? Yes, but should one care? Not if one has taken the time to see the movie from the eyes of a child enjoying the fun of the ride over and over again.

Should all movies be verbose in development, dark, and complicated with political social undertones to be excellent or good?

This is a fun "feel good" kid's movie of pretend play where for once the good guys win, save the world, and get the girl without any shades of gray. It is a wonderful suspension of adult cynicism to return to the creative world of a child's imaginative mind.

I don't know the history of Sandler's movies. It seems that most critics dislike his movies. This was the first movie of Sandler's that I saw and it was good wholesome fun on many levels.

Maybe that cynicism of Hollywood and the critics is why the world is such a dark scary place for children.

We need more men in the world like Sandler's character, Brenner.

The other 101 minutes probably sucked, though.

I'm a child of the 70's, and have played all the games referenced in this movie. I thought this movie would be fun, but then I saw it was an Adam Sandler movie and assumed it would be lazy, boring, unfunny and stupid. Unable to resist seeing giant Pac-Man and Centipedes, I purchased the official DVD anyway (or maybe I just downloaded it; you decide.) I kept my thumb on the fast-forward until a video game sequence. When the video game sequences ended, and it switched back to "plot" and "comedy", I fast forwarded again to the next video game sequence. In this way, I was able to enjoy the entire 5 minute movie.

Two stars for five minutes of fun. -1 star for being a Sandler movie.

Bottom line: Best enjoyed in fast forward.

I know Adam Sandler's movies aren't what they used to be, but reading the other reviews, it's as if this is the first slapstick comedy movie any of these people have ever seen. If you're a certain type of person, I guess you just can't get past your rigid thought processes in order to suspend disbelief long enough to watch a movie with a clearly absurd premise. Once you learn that about yourself, you should stop seeing films that are obviously meant to be stupid fun.

For those who don't mind a fair bit of tom foolery, this movie is above average. It's not high art, but it has some very funny moments, and hits a lot of the same 1980s nostalgia buttons Adam Sandler movies often press. The film is comparable to Grown Ups, but for the crowd who played video games before they were cool.

I liked it, my date (who is quite a bit younger and never played video games) liked it. It was a pretty inoffensive film with lots of stupid humor. Again, it's nothing special, but if you turn off your brain it makes for a fun time.

It's certainly neither a 1-star movie nor a 10-star movie. In fact, I rarely trust people who rate films in absolute terms. I've seen very few perfect movies and even fewer that were total garbage, but I've seen thousands of films in that 3-8 range.

Ill be honest I really wanted to like this movie, as I'm a huge gamer myself, and I wanted Adam Sandler to be in something good again. This was not that movie.

In all honesty the game scenarios when they face Pac-Man and Donkey Kong were cool, however everything else in this movie was dreadful. The script was terrible, the women characters are just there to stand and look pretty, Sandler was unfunny and looked like he just wanted a paycheck, everyone else seemed to be phoning it in, but Peter Dinklage was the only person who was funny the whole time and even that isn't saying much, as he only made me laugh twice. Kids might enjoy this movie, but kids will enjoy anything.

Pixels had a great idea, but the dialogue was not good at all, the acting was awful, and the characters had zero chemistry. Overall Pixels is a complete waste of time, money and effort. It could have been good cause the Video game bosses were the only good part, but in the end its just another bad movie on Adam Sandlers resume

Pixles is a action/ comedy directed by Chris Columbus, starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Josh Gad, Peter Dinklage, and Michelle Monaghan.

Going into this movie, I had very low expectations. Not only did the critics HATE the movie, but Adam Sandler has not been in anything good as of late. But ignore all the critics and the hate that goes along with them, and go see one of the funnest films of the summer.

The acting isn't great, its a Sandler film, you shouldn't be expecting it to be. The visual effects on the other hand, were done very well, considering the film did have an 88 million dollar budget.

This is a movie definitely worth your quarters.

I guess the the way to describe this movie is Ghostbusters lit up in neon. Please see it just for the cgi, it's awesome. If you have the dvd look for the short on how they created one of the cute characters. The comedy is snappy, almost witty, and yet nothing new, but it works. You'll smile rather than laugh out loud. The story is absurd, which is exactly what we pay Hollywood for, and with this one they've outdone themselves. There's a classic chase. There's a great cameo appearance. There's a cleverly worded love affair. There's a great homage to nerds of the 1980s and overall, I thought, a really whacky satire of big budget invasion movies. It's just such fun.

So, we decided to rent a film for our 11 year old sons birthday and it was this that he chose to watch. I decided to ignore the poor rating on IMDb and go for it anyway which proved to be a terrible mistake!! So we watched this film for around 1 hour and then all (Me, my girlfriend and our son) of us decided it was a complete waste of 1 hour of our lives (not to mention the £4.50 rental charge!) so had to turn it off. None of the comedy was funny to either us or the child, as the obvious jokes were being cracked on screen we were all looking at each other in disbelief at how cheesy and how much of a lack of effort was put into the writing of this film! Needless to say i will not be recommending this film to anyone, EVER!! I read some reviews on here after watching the film for the 1 hour that we survived and was expecting to find endless 1 star reviews and was so amazed that there was loads of 10 star ratings!!! I can't believe all these people were watching the same films as myself! Usually I do like Adam Sandler films (mainly the older ones).