There's quite a bit of "back in my day" grumbling, arguing that arcade games are inherently better than today's video games, a message that feels stuffy and backward. With a broadly humorous, PG-13 tone, it feels like a kids film, but niche references to '80s ephemera like "Fantasy Island" and Max Headroom will only hit with the Gen-Xers in the audience. One has to wonder who this movie is truly for. At this point, Sandler seems to put in appearances only to get movies financed. Sandler is barely putting in effort, and Sam could have been played by anyone.
While Dinklage shows his comic side with a wild mullet and bizarre accent, Gad is the real standout, giving an effervescently full-bodied performance as the paranoid, passionate Ludlow. "Pixels" is a blast of energetic fun, though it doesn't attempt to stray outside the lines or reflect on its "Godzilla"-style formula the novelty of nostalgic video game characters as space invaders sustains the film, thanks to the spectacularly executed and original effects. The only ones who can combat this invasion are the Arcaders: Sam, Ludlow and former nemesis Firecracker (Peter Dinklage), sprung from the clink for the occasion. The two are to use their finely honed expertise to train the Navy SEALs, but it turns out you can't send special ops to do a nerd's job.
When a mysterious alien invasion that looks eerily similar to "Galaga" hits a military base, President Cooper has no choice but to call in his big guns: Sam, and their conspiracy theorist wing nut childhood pal Ludlow (Josh Gad).