1982. In hopes of communicating with extraterrestrial intelligence, NASA sends a time capsule of earth and its culture into space that includes video games like Donkey Kong and Pac-Man. 30 years later, it gets an answer, but not the one it was looking for – aliens have come to declare war in the form of an army made up of video game characters. The future of the human race rests on a team of 40-something gamers who use their former passion to save the world…

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What stared out as a 2010 YouTube short called Pixels by French director Patrick Jean has turned into a $100 million big budget Hollywood flick directed by Chris Columbus (Home Alone, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone) and starring Adam Sandler. A sad state of affairs to be approached with caution, the result combines dumb jokes with embarrassing scenes, superficial side plots and the inevitable hot girl that falls for a fat loser. The only upside is its premise, which offers funny and absurd action scenes of video game characters pixilating the earth. One can only imagine what might have been if this project had been put into the hands of those more in tune with the times – Phil Lord and Chris Miller, say, the duo behind 21 Jump Street and The Lego Movie.