Pixels

Classic arcade games don’t get the respect they deserve anymore, and neither do those who played them religiously. That’s the basis for Pixels, an ill-conceived action comedy that swallows your change without advancing past the first level.

Indeed, there’s a nostalgic kick for those in the generation that grew up on classic titles such as Frogger, Donkey Kong, and Asteroids, but not much payoff to this mix of Adam Sandler’s slapstick antics with a high-concept computer-nerd revenge fantasy.

Sandler plays Sam, who dominated the arcade in his teenage years but now is a fledgling electronics repairman. His childhood buddy Will (Kevin James) happens to be the president of the United States, allowing him to drop by the White House to interrupt security meetings anytime he wants.

At any rate, the duo’s passion for battling space invaders is rekindled when their overgrown arcade nemeses terrorize Earth as part of a massive alien attack. As the situation grows dire, Sam and Will recruit a fellow geek (Josh Gad), an alluring military officer (Michelle Monaghan), and Sam’s old nemesis (Peter Dinklage) for their turns at the virtual joystick.

As directed by Chris Columbus (Mrs. Doubtfire), the 3D sequences featuring the giant-sized game play are a visually inventive highlight, even if they’re too calculated. Whether it’s Centipede descending into London’s Hyde Park, or Pac-Man going rogue on Manhattan, or a cavalcade of characters unleashing urban destruction with Earth’s future in the balance, the immersive action scenes use visual effects to blend grand scale with low-res creature details.

Unfortunately, however, that sense of fun is bridged together by the sophomoric shenanigans of Sandler and his sidekicks that throws common sense, as well as all government and military protocol, out the window.

In a sense, the screenplay is a feature-length rant against technology and how things were better in the good old days, when people weren’t attached to their phones and you had to leave the house to socialize.

Despite a cool retro soundtrack, that fuddy-duddy cynicism never leaves the outcome in doubt, since Pixels at its core is just another Sandler vehicle with a strained romantic subplot more than it is a heartfelt tribute to gamers and pop-culture icons. As Sam tells a youngster in the film: “I’m just a loser who’s good at old video games.” Who knew Sandler was good at old video games?

Rated PG-13, 105 minutes.