Borderlands, starring Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Ariana Greenblatt, Jack Black, and Jamie Lee Curtis is out in theaters this weekend. The movie is based on the video game series with the same name. It takes place on the fictional planet of Pandora, where players are seeking Vaults with treasures, etc. Video games that are made into TV shows or movies tend to be notoriously hit-or-miss. Some of them translate well onto the screen while others fall flat. Despite its all-star cast, Borderlands is on track to take the prize for one of the lowest-rated video game movies of all time. At one point, it had the distinct honor of having a 0% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
I’m not sure I knew of anyone, Borderlands fan or not, who believed that the movie adaptation of the game was going to be good, based on everything from casting to trailers. Now as reviews come in ahead of its release tomorrow, those fears have been validated. And then some.
As I write this, the Borderlands movie has a flat 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. No positive reviews whatsoever (Update: A single positive review has come in raising it to a 3%), and the ones that are in are not just negative, but brutal. Here’s a sampling:
Discussing Film: “The fans deserve a lot better than whatever director Eli Roth is trying to do with Borderlands. This is the video game movie curse at its worst.”
Men’s Journal: “If Borderlands doesn’t stop studio executives from salivating at the sight of every single IP that comes across their desks, nothing will.”
Next Best Picture: “It’s impressive how Roth can elicit the poor quality of 2000s video game adaptation energy yet somehow forget the discernable sense of fun or style that made even those terrible movies stand out.”
IGN: “Borderlands is an abysmal waste of a beloved franchise that takes a kooky band of murderous misfits and drains the life out of their first adventure together.”It’s true there are not many reviews in yet, and the score may tick up, but everything I’ve seen outside of some video game influencers who attended premieres (or are literally extras in the movie) has been relentlessly negative, and I would be surprised to find more than a handful of positive reviews come in when all is said and done. If any.
As of early Friday morning, the Rotten Tomatoes score was at 6% for critics and up to 50% for audience rating. I’ve never been a gamer, but I thought the trailer looked fun and after I saw how poorly it was doing in reviews, I was curious. So, after a day of being stuck at home with my kids and no electricity thanks to Tropical Storm Debby, I went to see it on Thursday evening. It was…not good. But I also didn’t think it was 0% not good. I don’t want to say anything spoilery, though! Some of the longer sequences that I thought needed to be edited down are ones that I imagine are homages to the video game itself. My son and I both laughed a lot at the one-liners and jokes that Jack Black’s Claptrap delivered. While promoting the movie, the cast looks like they’re having fun, which always makes for good sound bites. The elements were there for it to be a dumb but fun movie, but parts just did not feel cohesive. I read that in post-production, there were different hands involved in editing it, and honestly, that would explain a lot of its issues. Blanchett physically kicks ass in her role, though, and the entire time she was doing her bounty hunter/action hero thang on screen, I kept thinking how cool it is to have a woman in their 50s be the headline action star in a movie.
Photos credit: Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon and via Instagram
I know nothing about this movie/IP beyond a trainer we saw at the cinema sometime and based on that I wanted to see it. I have an annual membership at our local Everyman cinema so it will only cost me time (and snacks) so if it’s still on once we’ve been to Deadpool and Wolverine on Sunday and Trap sometime in the next week or so then I’ll give it a go.
I’m a massive fan of the game franchise, and was unsure about the film because of Eli Roth. Also, casting Kevin Hart as Roland is a no. But! I’m still going to go see the movie because we have the points to watch it for free, I love the rest of the cast, and because the adult-only cinema my husband and I frequent has killer drink specials on this summer. So I’ll be drunk while I watch it. Wooooohoooooo!!!
I wanted to see this as well. Hard pass on Kevin Hart but Jamie Lee and Cate make up for that. May go after we see Trap and the new Alien movie.
P.S. Bring your own snacks! I pack lunch for me and my guy and my purse will hold two subs, two ziplocks full of chips, candy for both and a bottle of water!
The movie trailer looked fun, but what I’m really here for is an ID on Cate’s top. When I zoomed in on the image, I noticed she is wearing a top made of old spoons.
I saw this movie last night. I wasn’t familiar with the game, but I like Jamie Lee Curtis and Cate Blanchett, I had a MoviePass trial, it was raining and I wasn’t ready to deal with rush hour traffic, so I figured “why not”? With 19 minutes I wanted my life back. Everything is cliched: the world-weary anti-hero who suddenly gives a d$$n, the innocent(?) child needing transport, the “accidental” playing of a message recorded by mentor/parent that gives our anti-hero a reason to fight, even celebratory fireworks. We are told, rather than shown, that good wins and the rag-tag group of misfits are now BFFs.
Cate can rush off to the next Earthshit event and lick her wounds there.
I’m sorry but what the f*ck is happening with Blanchett’s top at the premiere ? Are those spoons ?!
I loved Borderlands and Borderlands 2, they were awesome games with such great storylines. I think the complaint may be that they didn’t stick to the original story. Kevin Heart playing the mysterious tall dark and handsome Roland? why would they choose him? Cate Blanchette is a good choice for Lilith and Ariana Greenblat is great in everything she does.
I’m not gonna lie- I never got into the game. But I’ve seen the theatrical trailer for this sooo many times this summer and it never really *grabbed* me.
Everytime I saw it, I was only struck by how much they tried to mimic the vibe of Guardians of the Galaxy.