Pixels

This review may contain spoilers!

Last year Blended made me think that not all Adam Sandler films are bad; this year Pixels reminds me of how wrong I was. I would give Pixels a 3/10.

A lot can be said for the special effects within this film, I know at first glance there are some very obvious 3D animation models brought into this (especially at the end of the film), but ultimately this does nothing but work to the advantage of the film. In fact when the film was getting under way and the military base was attacked I was absolutely enthralled when a wall was decimated by Galaga and a soldier was pixellated. I also thought that the soundtrack was really well constructed for the film, it was all fairly centred around the 80s which was a great move and Josh Gad singing 'Everybody Wants To Rule The World' was really entertaining.

Kevin James, who played Cooper, was puzzling as the President but really excels at making a charming role; beyond the fact that his role was confusing I like that we got some very valid political criticism and comedy out of the role that he played. Josh Gad, who played Ludlow, despite playing a character that was borderline creepy is actually fantastic at playing the oddball roles; Gad is energetic when he's onscreen so seeing him go into full blown tirades in this film is awesome. Brian Cox, who played Admiral Porter, is really comedic as this major authoritative figurehead; there's a lot of humour from his performance around the state of the US military. Denis Akiyama, who played Professor Iwatani, gave such a genuine performance in this film; his entire interaction with Pac-man is heartwarming and a great scene.

However the best performance came from Sean Bean, who played Corporal Hill. Bean was only in this film in a minor role capacity, you could even say a cameo but it was by far one of the best parts of the film. The Centipede scene was quite tense so the raw anger and cussing you get from Bean at the beginning of the scene is exceptionally entertaining. He's a commanding role and you believe that he is quite a rough military figure. Beyond Bean's great acting talent though I really like the chemistry between him and Cox; the hug they share is actually the funniest bit of the film.

This film was actually bland in terms of the visual direction (aside from the special effects); the cinematography and editing felt basic and simple in it's direction. I also have some major issues with the plot as a whole, especially in terms of how believable it is. The entire construction os James' role as the President is confusing; how did such a schmuck kid grow up to be this leader? Why does Monaghan's role spill her guts to the man installing her TV; it sets up the most implausible onscreen romance? How does Dinklage's character use cheat codes when he's driving a car in the Pac-man scene? More than that why does Dinklage return under the pretense of such an implausible reason? In the final act the aliens have already started destroying the planet because Earth cheated, so why give humanity a second chance? My list could go on for a while but what's important to take away is that the concept of this film could have worked but the script went the extra mile to stretch the limits of what an audience member would accept. The comedy is very lowbrow, sexist and racist; you stop enjoying it after the first fifteen minutes so the film starts to drag on.

Adam Sandler, who plays Brenner, is an awful protagonist; his humour just doesn't stand up because most of the time he stands around either insulting people or dragging out a joke for too long. Michelle Monaghan, who played Violet, looks like she doesn't want to be in the film and for good reason; her entire romance subplot with Sandler is cringe-worthy at best and it's fair to say that they have no chemistry. Peter Dinklage, who played Eddie, puts on one of the strangest voices in this film and gives a C-grade performance; the more I watch Dinklage outside of Game of Thrones the more I think that that show was just a fluke for him. Matt Lintz, who played Matty, is a really annoying child actor; he doesn't connect well with either Monaghan or Sandler so most of his scenes feel forced. Jane Krakowski, who played First Lady Jane Cooper, had very little screen presence; her line delivery was also pretty bad. Ashley Benson, who played Lady Lisa, was bad for reasons that exist more out of writing than anything; we get from this role a really bad romance plot that shows a creepy nerd have his fetish rewarded by being 'given' this beautiful woman so make of that what you will. Serena Williams and Martha Stewart, who played themselves, suffered from the same issue as benson; their cameo is little more than indulging a fetish and it's really weak comedy writing.