Borderlands Movie Review: Eli Roth, the auteur behind stomach-churning horror films like Cabin Fever, Hostel, The Green Inferno, and Thanksgiving, has created a movie adaptation of the popular video game Borderlands. The film generated significant pre-release buzz due to its eclectic cast, including two Oscar winners, Cate Blanchett and Jamie Lee Curtis, alongside Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Ariana Greenblatt, and Edgar Ramirez. Unfortunately, the best thing you can say about Borderlands is that it makes you wonder if any of these fine actors realised in the midst of the production that they were starring in a full-blown turkey. ‘Borderlands’ Premiere: Jamie Lee Curtis Steps In To Save Cate Blanchett’s Red Carpet Wardrobe Glitch! (Watch Video)
In a future set in another galaxy – sorry for not giving specifics; there are just too many movie galaxies to track now – Lilith (Cate Blanchett) works as a bounty hunter assigned a new mission: to find Tiny Tina (Ariana Greenblatt), the daughter of Atlas (Edgar Ramirez), a powerful tycoon, on Pandora, which turns out to be Lilith’s home planet. On Pandora, Lilith immediately gains a robot companion, Claptrap (Jack Black), who is mysteriously assigned to help her.
Watch The Trailer of ‘Borderlands’:
With Claptrap’s help, Lilith discovers where Tina has been taken but encounters resistance from her kidnappers, including a former mercenary, Roland (Kevin Hart), and Tina’s gibberish-speaking hulk of a bodyguard, Krieg (Florian Munteanu). Lilith ends up assisting them in locating a mythical vault, with a willing Tina claimed to be the key to it. And yes, there is also a crazy scientist, Tannis (Jamie Lee Curtis), who is helping them track the vault and has a connection to Lilith’s past. Together, they traverse wastelands and dangerous tunnels, battling monsters, mercenaries, and Atlas’ soldiers to reach their mysterious destination.
‘Borderlands’ Movie Review – Nothing Works Here
I have not played Borderlands the game, and if you claim that to enjoy a film like Borderlands, you need to have played the game, I call your claim BS! Yes, if I had played the game, it would have been easier for me to identify the Easter eggs and callbacks, but ultimately, Borderlands, the movie, should stand on its own. It should have been good enough that I would have wanted to buy the game afterwards and binge-play it over the weekend. Not only did Borderlands fail to do that, but it also made me doze off twice. That’s how boring this movie is.
A Still From Borderlands
This is a tragedy since I wouldn’t have dared to call a film starring greats like Blanchett and Curtis a bore. Sadly, there is hardly anything redeemable in the movie. The characters are so weakly written that I still don’t have a clue what’s going on with anyone who is not Lilith or Tina, and I am not going to play the video game to find out. The humour is sparsely funny, despite Black trying his best to make Claptrap crack one-liners at every wanton situation.
A Still From Borderlands
The screenplay drones on listlessly, offering no scope for depth in the characters or their relationships, like Lilith being this motherly guardian for Tina. The set pieces look droll, and the action scenes are choreographed and edited in the most dreary manner. I couldn’t find a single positive thing to say about any department, including the performances. ‘Borderlands’: Ariana Greenblatt and Cate Blanchett Reveal Why Their Characters Tiny Tina and Lilith Make for Movie’s Emotional Core.
‘Borderlands’ Movie Review – The Cast Feels Like NPC’s Stuck in a Bad Game
While Cate Blanchett makes for a solid lead and rocks that red-haired look, her performance feels phoned in. Jamie Lee Curtis gets very little scope to stand out. I appreciate Kevin Hart wanting to take a break from comedy, but after Lift and now Borderlands, the actor should realise that action isn’t exactly the alternate genre he should pursue.
A Still From Borderlands
Ariana Greenblatt brings manic spunk as the chaos-loving, rabbit-ear-wearing possible living MacGuffin, but it gets annoying after a while. Edgar Ramirez, as the antagonist, is utterly forgettable.
‘Borderlands’ Movie Review – Final Thoughts
Borderlands is a huge missed opportunity at being a good videogame adaptation, especially with the starry names involved. Despite a star-studded cast and the potential for an engaging story, Borderlands is ultimately bogged down by lacklustre writing, uninspired direction and boring action scenes.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 09, 2024 10:20 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
