Pixels

In the premise of Pixels, in the early ‘80s we sent an historical broadcast of the video game championships into outer space. Well, they reached their target, as an alien force accepted the message as a declaration of war, and are now sending back retribution in the form of classic arcade games. Centipede, Pac-Man and others are primed to attack us, and maybe the worst movie President of all time (Kevin James) calls upon his secret weapon, champion video gamers from the past (Adam Sandler, Josh Gad, and Peter Dinklage). This one sounds better on paper than in Pixels.

ClearPlay In Action!

There is some crudeness, suggestive language, and scatological humor that ClearPlaycleans up. The one’s weird because the humor is leveled at 12-year-olds, who mostly will have no idea what is funny about Donkey Kong. ClearPlayed, it’s appropriate for most ages, though some images of people becoming pixelated will certainly be disturbing.

Will I Dig (Dug) Pixels or will I wish it was Game Over?...

I suppose it depends on how nostalgic you are for classic gaming whether you’ll like Pixels or want your quarter back. I enjoyed the special effects, though the sophomoric humor ran thin. There are some fun elements in the movie, and it has potential, but it’s just not funny enough for me to embrace it.

Marty Nabhan, ClearPlay King of Kong

Rated PG-13 for some language and suggestive comments; 106 mins; Directed by Chris Columbus