I put this on thinking it was going to be a fun family film. Instead, it was more of an adult film than I expected, nostalgically targeted at those 45+ year-old-men who spent all their childhood in video arcades playing Space Invaders, Defender, and Frogger - and now suck at life
In that regard, it was somewhat disappointing - it didn't attempt to engage younger viewers, it's pace demanded an adult's patience, yet at its heart it's really just a kids film - simply for people who are a few decades out from childhood.
That's not to say it was entirely bad. There were some laughs, and great special effects. But it was really a series of basic plot cliches hacked together into an overly-long narrative, and Sandler's attempts to spin them couldn't change that.
Which is a shame, because being a little tighter, punchier, and aiming for a wider audience - the way Pixar might have handled it - could have made this film much more entertaining.
As it stands, though, it feels off-target, and demands a little too much from the viewer to make it properly enjoyable.
The one big highlight, though, is the appearance in the soundtrack of Vonlichten's symphonic reboot of Queen's We Will Rock you - which was quite superb:
