There’s a moment midway through Pixels where the military realize they are outmatched by the invading aliens/retro video game characters, and the president himself (Kevin James; more on that later) allows the gaming experts played by Adam Sandler and Josh Gad to assume command of the battle. In that moment, the film nearly stumbles on to some meaningful subtext. After all, we’re all living in a world where comic book properties are the premier form of entertainment and tech skills are essential for landing a job. More than ever, being a geek is (as we once pointed out) actually a tremendous asset. Unfortunately, that split-second of promise is as close as Pixels gets to excellence.
