As far as the public is concerned, the idea of a film based on video games is an abomination. The tolerable exceptions can be counted on one hand, and even then, none of them stands out much. But Hollywood loves to try... again and again. With a budget of 110 million dollars, Adam Sandler, Peter Dinklage, and both Pac-Man and Donkey Kong as villains, what could go wrong...?
Two exceptions
To begin, I'll name two of what I personally consider exceptions. The first is Forward Unto Dawn. Microsoft can ignore players as much as it wants and defend its stupid vision of Halo as an Xbox-exclusive saga, but the film manages to stay on its feet even with a gigantic franchise on its shoulders. The other exception is Wreck-It Ralph. Yes, I know... some people cry in the corners when they hear that title. I'll probably go to hell, but it won't be because I liked Wreck-It Ralph.
Now, with comics dominating movie theaters, the film industry was supposed to abandon (at least for a while) its plans to adapt video games to the big screen. Well... Pixels is not technically about a video game, but its main villains are two historic characters: Donkey Kong and Pac-Man. Donkey Kong is a serial kidnapper who likes to throw barrels... but Pac-Man as a bad guy?
Aliens attack
Yes, Pac-Man as a villain. How did we get here? Apparently, the plot of Pixels explains that NASA sent a probe in an attempt to establish contact with extraterrestrial beings. The aliens found the probe and its contents, including copies of Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, Space Invaders and other games. For some strange reason (?), the aliens interpreted those games as a declaration of war and decided to return the favor with giant digital versions ready to destroy everything. Adam Sandler and his team's job will be to fight the "giant alien video games" the same way as in each game. This involves using four Mini Coopers as ghosts and seeing Breakout destroy what appears to be the Taj Mahal.
The cast
Adam Sandler needs no introduction, and the same applies to Peter Dinklage after his fabulous work in Games of Thrones. The rest of the cast consists of Kevin James (a friend of Sandler with whom he has worked several times), Josh Gad (who played Steve Wozniak in Jobs), Michelle Monaghan (Mission Impossible 3 and 4), Jane Krakowski (30 Rock), Brian Cox (Troy, Manhunter), Ashley Benson (Spring Breakers), Sean Bean (what is Sean Bean doing here?), and Denis Akiyama as Toru Iwatani, the creator of Pac-Man. Pixels will be released on July 24 across the pond.
