Pixels finds Adam Sandler defending the Earth from aliens who resemble classic video game characters. While it features recognizable characters, the movie isn't actually based on a specific video game. It's not the first! Hollywood has a long history of making movies about video games, even when moviemakers invent the source material.
TRON (1982)
Quite possibly the most famous video game movie of all time, TRON imagines a story where a man is sucked into a computer game and must fight for his life. Since the game in question doesn’t exist in real life, the filmmakers are free to create whatever they want and throw any and all threats at their hero. The movie asks a big question: what would happen to you if “Game Over” meant the end of your life? No, a pocketful of quarters can’t get you out of this one!
WarGames (1983)
All video games feature some kind of artificial intelligence, whether it be a rudimentary pattern or something far more complex. WarGames imagines what it would be like to play a game against the supercomputer tasked with safeguarding the world against nuclear annihilation. A young hacker meets his match when he gets in a strategic battle of wills against the A.I. that has its finger (so to speak) on the nuclear trigger and, well, things get pretty intense. After all, you can’t just hit “Continue” when Armageddon arrives!
Cloak and Dagger (1984)
In a weird way, it’s every gamer’s fantasy: what if the skills you pick up from playing video games could actually be utilized in real life? You weren’t being a couch potato – you were learning how to be a master spy! That’s the fantastical core of Cloak and Dagger, which finds a young gamer forced to put his digital espionage skills into action when a game cartridge containing valuable information falls into his hands.
The Last Starfighter (1984)
The gamer fantasy of Cloak and Dagger has nothing on The Last Starfighter, which may the greatest movie of all time for gamers who like to dream big. What if that cool arcade game you’re so good at isn’t a game, but a recruiting device that tests whether or not you’re good enough to pilot a spaceship and help protect the galaxy? You aren’t wasting your time playing games – you’re just preparing to save the universe!
The Wizard (1989)
As far as cheesy nostalgia trips go, you don’t get any better than The Wizard. An ‘80s-tastic celebration of all things 16-bit, this movie is all about the spirit of video games. While many movies paint gaming as the hobby of desperate losers, this one makes gaming look as cool as possible. Well, as cool as you could look in the ‘80s, which means lots of headbands and sleeveless shirts.
eXistenZ (1999)
Not every movie about video games is going to be a party, and no film asks bigger questions about electronic gaming than this one. A typical David Cronenberg movie, this is sticky, icky and altogether frightening as it dares to ask the tough questions while getting under your skin. It’s the kind of movie that will make you think extra hard about what you’re doing the next time you pick up a controller. Maybe you should watch a movie instead!
Wreck-It Ralph (2012)
Wreck-It Ralph isn’t based on an existing video game, but its main characters are supposed to remind you of all the old-school games you love. In fact, Ralph and his arch-frenemy Felix fit right in alongside the “real” characters who share their arcade, which is a huge compliment to the film. It’s easy for someone born after a certain year to watch this movie and assume that the lead character has been around since the early days of Pac-Man and Mario. That’s impressive!
