Sometimes one trailer just isn’t enough, just like sometimes one cup of coffee isn’t enough. Both of those happen to be the case today, as Sony has released two new trailers for its upcoming film Pixels just as I’m about to bike over to my favorite local coffee shop for a little extra caffeine boost.
Pixels seeks to delight the classic gamer slash geek in all of us, Wreck-It Ralph style, as it features a number of iconic video game characters including those from PAC-MAN, Donkey Kong, Centipede, Galaga, Frogger, Q*bert, and Space Invaders. Sounds pretty cool, right? I’ll admit, the physical world-building in the two trailers does look pretty rad, but these days I’m always skeptical of anything starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James. Pixels also stars Michelle Monaghan, though, whom I’m generally a fan of, and it’s got Q*bert. Who knows, maybe it won’t be completely terrible?
Based on the animated short film by Patrick Jean, Pixels tells the story of what happens when intergalactic aliens who misinterpret video-feeds of classic arcade games as a declaration of war against them decide to attack Earth, using the games as models for their various assaults. President Will Cooper (James) has to call on his childhood best friend, ’80s video game champion Sam Brenner (Sandler), now a home theater installer, to lead a team of old-school arcaders (Peter Dinklage and Josh Gad) to defeat the aliens and save the planet. Joining them is Lt. Col. Violet Van Patten (Monaghan), a specialist supplying the arcaders with unique weapons to fight the aliens.
I did muster up a bit of a laugh when Kevin James shoots a smurf in the first trailer below, though I’m not entirely sure why. Other than that, there doesn’t seem to be much here for me aside from a few cool visuals, unless of course Sandler and James get eaten alive by PAC-MAN or something. Then I’d probably be the first one at the theater.
