Although it advertises an original storyline packed with action and laughs, Adam Sandler falls short yet again with his latest film, “Pixels.”

The premise of the movie has potential — aliens intercept a capsule sent from Earth in the ’80s (which contains video games, among other items), mistake it for a message of violence and use our own video game creations to launch a full-scale global attack.

Add Adam Sandler in the mix for popular appeal, and you’ve got yourself a top-grossing film, right? Think again.

Sandler’s role as Sam Brenner, a former Pac-Man champion, is one of the comedian’s cheesiest character performances yet. The film’s quirky one-liners fall short at just about every opportunity, which make the comedy seem cheap and unauthentic.

This, perhaps, wouldn’t be such a big problem if Sandler weren’t the star actor. His name brings the audience a very specific expectation of what the film contains, regardless of the genre.

Since the concept behind the movie appeals to those of all ages, it could have satisfied everyone with a better execution. Anyone who has played a version of Pac-Man should enjoy seeing him translated into a live-action character on the big screen, but it simply comes off unimpressive.

Other video games such as Tetris and Centipede added to the sentimental quality of the film, but there are still numerous gaps where other games could have brought something more to the movie.

Look past Kevin James (yes, Paul Blart: Mall Cop) acting as president and childhood friend of Brenner. Ignore Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage playing Brenner’s former video game rival Eddie Plant. Even enormous amounts of nostalgia can’t save “Pixels” from being declared a failure on nearly every scale, let alone an all-star cast.

It’s clear from the film’s mere $50-million worldwide opening, the result of a budget of over $88 million, that Sandler’s latest performance isn’t something of which he should be particularly proud.