Verdict: ⭐️ 2/10
Borderlands fans, brace yourselves – this isn’t the chaotic, hilarious, and gore-filled adventure you were hoping for. Eli Roth’s Borderlands movie is a disappointing shadow of Gearbox Software’s beloved franchise. What could have been a high-octane romp through Pandora is instead a flat, uninspired, and frustratingly linear slog that misses the mark on almost every level.
📜 The Plot: A Misfire from the Start
The movie centers on Lilith (Cate Blanchett), a bounty hunter hired by the arms manufacturer Atlas (Edgar Ramírez) to find his daughter, Tiny Tina (Ariana Greenblatt), on the hostile planet of Pandora. Along the way, she teams up with a ragtag group of vault hunters, including Roland (Kevin Hart), Krieg (Florian Munteanu), and everyone’s favorite sarcastic robot, Claptrap (Jack Black). What could have been an epic quest to uncover an ancient Eridian vault instead plays out like a paint-by-numbers mission with zero stakes and even less excitement.
🎨 Visuals & Aesthetic: A Wasted Opportunity
Borderlands’ signature cel-shaded, comic-book art style is one of the franchise’s most beloved features. Unfortunately, Roth’s interpretation of Pandora is an eyesore. The dusty, digital backdrops are unappealing and poorly rendered, leaving the world of Pandora feeling more like a cheap green screen than a living, breathing world. Even in IMAX, the visuals are disappointing, with characters often appearing as if they’re pasted onto a low-res background.
🎭 The Cast: Wasted Potential
Despite a star-studded cast, the performances are lackluster at best:
- Cate Blanchett as Lilith delivers a dry, disinterested performance that lacks the fiery energy of her in-game counterpart.
- Kevin Hart as Roland simply plays… Kevin Hart, failing to bring any depth or originality to the character.
- Florian Munteanu‘s Krieg is almost inaudible, reducing the psycho mercenary to little more than background noise.
- Even Jack Black as Claptrap, usually a surefire hit, struggles to bring consistent humor to the role.
The only standout is Ariana Greenblatt as Tiny Tina, who injects a bit of Harley Quinn-esque chaos into the film, but even her energetic performance isn’t enough to save the movie from itself.
🎮 The Borderlands Spirit: Nowhere to Be Found
Where’s the chaotic energy, the off-the-wall humor, and the visceral action that made Borderlands a hit? Nowhere to be found. Roth’s film feels like it was designed by someone who skimmed the game’s Wikipedia page rather than truly understanding the source material. The violence is neutered to fit a PG-13 rating, the humor is tame and uninspired, and the plot is so linear it feels like a tutorial rather than a full-fledged adventure.
⚠️ Final Thoughts: Borderlands Misses the Mark
In short, Borderlands is a missed opportunity – a cautionary tale of how not to adapt a video game into a movie. If you’re a die-hard fan of the games, this movie will likely leave you frustrated and disappointed. And if you’re new to the franchise, this isn’t the introduction you deserve. Either way, it’s best to leave this one on the shelf and revisit the games instead.
Have you seen the Borderlands movie? What did you think? Drop your thoughts below! 🎬👇