Film Review – Borderlands

August 9th, 2024 | POSTED BY Allen Almachar

I should start this review by admitting that I have never played the Borderlands video games. I’m fully aware of their existence and how beloved they are among fans. Fate just didn’t have it in the cards for me as a casual gamer. That said, I don’t think having prior knowledge of this universe would have made much of a difference. Film adaptations of video games have not had the best track record. The Last of Us (2023) might be one of the few exceptions and that was a television show. This adaptation does little to change that long held tradition. The big screen version of Borderlands (2024) is a generic, half-baked sci-fi adventure that feels like it is simply painting by numbers.

Director Eli Roth (who cowrites with Joe Abercrombie) fails to distinguish this from other, similar properties. Take for example the central premise, in which a group of misfits join forces to accomplish a dangerous mission. It doesn’t take much to see the parallels to Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) or The Suicide Squad (2021). Character types are so closely alike that you could take the cast from here, compare them side by side with the cast of Guardians, and find they are basically mirror images of one another. The same goes for the planet where the central action takes place. Not only is it named “Pandora” like every other sci-movie featuring a distant planet, its sandy, apocalyptic landscape will instantly remind us of the Mad Max films, especially Fury Road (2015) and Furiosa (2024). Hell, some of the background actors could have walked from one set to another and we wouldn’t be able to tell the difference!

Where the video games may have been able to establish their mythology with a unique personality, the big screen translation does not. It’s as though the production saw what worked in the past and simply tried to recapture the same old magic – from character designs, art direction, and even the rampant needle drops. But because we’ve seen it done more effectively in the past, the result doesn’t leave much of an impact. What we end up with is a narrative that feels slapped together – a series of action set pieces that barely register any excitement. Reports state that principal photography took place years ago – back in 2021 – but the release date was held back due to studio interference and extensive reshoots. In the time since, Roth was able to complete and release his horror film Thanksgiving (2023) and star Cate Blanchett delivered an Oscar-nominated performance in Tár (2022). Needless to say: This thing was in development hell for a long time, and it shows.

Blanchett is one of our finest actors, who has the capability to disappear in any role. But even a person of her immense talent can barely keep Borderlands from being a generic and lackadaisical watch. She plays Lilith, a bounty hunter who gets hired by a corporate tycoon (Edgar Ramírez) to travel back to her home planet and retrieve his young daughter, Tiny Tina (Ariana Greenblatt). Tina was apparently kidnapped by the mercenary Roland (Kevin Hart) and the muscular behemoth, Krieg (Florian Munteanu). But once Lilith steps foot on Pandora, she quickly realizes that things are not what they seem. She eventually joins forces with the merry band of oddballs – including the robot Claptrap (Jack Black) and researcher Tannis (Jamie Lee Curtis) – in search of a mysterious vault that could contain untold riches. As one might expect: Hijinks ensue.

Let’s step away from how derivative this looks and sounds – is it at least funny? No, it is not. It’s too bad that the skillset of comedic actors like Kevin Hart and Jack Black (who co-starred in the entertaining Jumanji reboot) are so watered down here. For Black, his voicework as Claptrap has him as a non-stop chatterbox, incessantly trying to find a joke in a sea of dialogue. He comes away less humorous and more annoying, like Wall-E without the charm. For Hart, his performance as Roland is permanently set at neutral. He has very little material to work with, and not enough space to flex his comedic muscles. Like the rest of the movie, Hart appears to be going through the motions. Blanchett does get a chuckle or two in how exasperated her character appears to be, but that’s a small blip in an otherwise unfunny movie. When one of the biggest comedic moments involve our crew driving through a field of actual urine and feces, you know something went amiss.

In terms of action, we get plenty of big set pieces involving chases through the desert, shoot outs, and hand to hand combat. Unfortunately, these moments are so overly chopped up that it makes it difficult to follow along with the choreography. The cinematography and editing mashes medium shots of characters shooting at random objects off screen with images of henchmen flailing about wildly. The lack of visual coherency takes away from scenes that are meant to be highlights. The idea of Cate Blanchett wielding dual pistols or using a flame thrower is awesome, but in execution they barely stand out. It’s been reported that Roth had originally shot the film with extreme violence, and studio meddling forced reshoots to aim for a PG-13 rating. Of course, we can’t review a film that hasn’t seen the light of day. What we do get, however, leaves a lot to be desired.

The biggest sin of Borderlands is that it reminds us of other, better movies. Whether it is true to the spirit of the video games, I’ll leave that for others to decide. Maybe it would be better to just play the games and ignore this altogether. As a summer blockbuster, it’s too recycled, too halfhearted, and too forgettable.

Ariana Greenblatt, Borderlands, Cate Blanchett, Edgar Ramirez, Eli Roth, Featured, Florian Munteanu, Furiosa, Guardians of the Galaxy, Jack Black, Jamie Lee Curtis, Joe Abercrombie, Jumanji, Kevin Hart, Mad Max, Mad Max: Fury Road, Thanksgiving, The Last of Us, The Suicide Squad