BORDERLANDS (2024)

In 2009, video game developer Gearbox released Borderlands, a first-person looter shooter game set on the lawless planet, Pandora, not to be confused with the world from Avatar (2009). That game, which was released to wide acclaim for its irreverent comedy, wide array of futuristic guns, multiplayer co-op, and sci-fi Western tone, gained a huge following. Fans have had countless opportunities to return to the world of Borderlands; the series now spans two sequel games, a prequel to the sequel game, a Dungeons & Dragons-inspired spin-off game, a comic-book series, and two narrative-based graphic adventure games.

One classic moment that fans of the series recall fondly is in Borderlands 2. One side mission has players meet Face McShooty in the Highlands. His eager request? To be shot in the face. Not in the arm. Not in the leg. Not in the chest. “Do it! Shoot me in the face! Face face face face face! Now! Bullets in the face! Want ‘em! Need ‘em!” When you do shoot him in the face, Mr McShooty politely thanks you and you’re granted experience points. The irreverent comedy and ridiculousness of the game may not be for everyone, but it’s moments like these that make the game so fun and memorable.

Now, the series makes its way to the big screen. Unfortunately, the film version of Borderlands has no such memorable moments, offering little for long-time fans of the franchise or newcomers alike. It feels destined to be forgotten before you leave the cinema lobby.

Borderlands is directed by Eli Roth (Thanksgiving), with a screenplay by Roth and Joe Crombie, an anonymous pseudonym rumoured to be the work of Craig Mazin, showrunner of Chernobyl (2019) and The Last of Us. The film follows Lilith (Cate Blanchett), a bounty hunter hired to find the missing daughter of the CEO of the large tech company, Atlas. Lilith reluctantly returns to her home planet, Pandora, where she’s wrapped up in the dangerous quest to open a mysterious vault that centres around Atlas’s (Edgar Ramírez) daughter: a crazed teenager with a soft spot for explosives, Tiny Tina (Ariana Greenblatt). Lilith and Tiny are joined by a frank, one-wheeled robot, Claptrap (Jack Black), a former mercenary, Roland (Kevin Hart), Tina’s muscular, psychotic bodyguard, Krieg (Florian Munteanu), and the socially inept scientist, Dr Tannis (Jamie Lee Curtis).

The film opens with a voiceover from Cate Blanchett describing the ancient alien species, the Eridians, and the ancient prophecy laid out for a daughter of Eridia to open a vault of unseen treasures. However, Blanchett’s voiceover work feels less inspired than that in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). That fantasy film truly set the tone and awe of Middle-earth. Here, it feels tacked on, and not interested in engaging viewers in this strange world.

While Borderlands seems to take much of its inspiration from the first game, it bafflingly smashes elements from multiple titles into this film. Roland and Lilith are two of the four playable characters in the original game (the other two, Mordecai and Brick, are absent). Tiny Tina is a side character from Borderlands 2. Tannis features as a recurring side character throughout the series. And, Atlas exists but is chosen to be the film’s villain. This choice becomes even more shocking when Borderlands boasts one of the funniest and most unique villains in video game history: Handsome Jack. Instead, Borderlands opts to make Atlas a cookie-cutter antagonist who is cruel and only motivated by money. Ramírez has nothing to work with in the character and is suffocated by the script’s lack of willingness to make the villain anything but archetypal.

All the decisions made in the movie only highlight the glaring absences from the video game series, not just in characters. The vibrant landscapes of Pandora, from the tundra to the underground caves, are tossed aside for murky backgrounds. The film doesn’t even seem interested in exploring the vast world. Each scene seems to take place in a small enclosed room or dim, underground room that gives off less ‘lawless alien planet’ and more of a ‘we didn’t budget for convincing sets’ vibe.

One of the game’s biggest draws, the endless looting of new and more interesting guns, isn’t in focus at all. For a game that has some unique guns from highly characterised arms manufacturers that range from pistols and machine guns to walking semis and conscious weapons that guilt you every time you shoot someone, the movie seems to only think of them as props. Even the game’s very minor but compelling background commentary is left on the cutting-room floor without a care. In the game, Pandora is discovered by large corporations as a mining planet. When they find the ore is not valuable enough, they close operations, leaving the poor and psychotic alone on a planet full of creatures ready to kill at every corner. In the movie, Pandora exists and corporations exist and that’s seemingly enough for the filmmakers to delve into.

Of course, viewers going into the movie without any prior knowledge of the game series aren’t reminded of what could have been for the big-screen Borderlands. Still, the movie itself is an uninspired and forgettable action comedy.

Despite the $110M budget, the VFX looks terrible at points, clashing with the lack of depth in the sets. The chemistry between the characters is non-existent, making it difficult for the development of the relationships to move us. The humour warrants a few chuckles, mainly from Jack Black’s voiceover work as the cheeky Claptrap. The dialogue is rough at times, wandering into action movie clichés and out-of-context quips. The film is also illogical. During an escape, Claptrap is unable to climb the stairs because of his wheel, so he is dragged up the stairs by Krieg. The moment is played for laughs, but it’s undermined by a moment 15 minutes earlier when we clearly see the team walk up a set of stairs and Claptrap is magically there. Borderlands feels disjointed, like there were a few strong ideas to have it resonate with audiences and make them laugh… but the filmmakers didn’t draw any coherent thread through it all.

And the film lacks stakes. Every time the characters are put in danger, it’s quickly thwarted. By the time the film reaches its climax, its suspense is predictable. None of the characters ever feels like their life is in any danger.

It’s hard to even point out Borderlands’ competence as the flaws stick out so much. The score from Steve Jablonsky is solid, especially for fans of the games, who are reminded of the fun, Western-esque themes. And Cate Blanchett tries. As the lead protagonist, the film falls heavily on her for emotional resonance, which ultimately doesn’t land. That feels more the fault of the screenplay and the film’s short 102-minute runtime, which feels so rushed that we don’t have a second to breathe while we are moved on to the next set piece too quickly.

Currently, the media is dominated by nostalgia. Blockbusters like Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) and TV shows like Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022) are vehicles for callbacks to iconic moments for fervent viewers, who get excited by the grandeur of their memories. But, for fans of Borderlands, I doubt there will be any excitement in the small callbacks. Not for the bus ride with weapons seller Marcus that opens the series or the appearance of some of the planet’s most memorable creatures and locations. For movie fans, there’s little on offer here that you haven’t seen before and little to make you want to return to Pandora.

And for fans of the Borderlands games, you’ll probably find more excitement in the update that was released this weekend for Borderlands 3… which increased the font size in the options menu.

USA | 2024 | 102 MINUTES | 2.39:1 | COLOUR | ENGLISH

Cast & Crew

director: Eli Roth.
writers: Eli Roth & Joe Crombie (based on the video game ‘Borderlands’ by Gearbox Software).
starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Edgar Ramirez, Ariana Greenblatt, Florian Munteanu, Gina Gershon & Jamie Lee Curtis.