Borderlands, the new live-action film inspired by Gearbox Software and 2K’s best-selling looter shooter series, may not be the video game adaptation that fans have been waiting for, according to early reactions that have been shared by several critics, including some who have described the film as being a “disaster.” The new movie, which is directed by Eli Roth (Cabin Fever, Hostel) and features an all-star cast (e.g., Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett), will be released in theaters and IMAX this Friday.
Critics are saying:
- “Filled with every cliché you can ponder, this film swaps the mayhem and imagination of the games for a lifeless, unfunny, and visually repulsive dud with annoying characters and a cast with not one ounce of chemistry.”
- “[Borderlands] is really bad. I really wanted to like it, but an uninspired plot + several phoned-in performances + being stuck in a weird place where it looks both expensive and cheap at the same time make it a huge misfire.”
- “Borderlands feels like what an out-of-touch executive thinks the ‘cool kids’ find appealing. There is not a single earnest character moment here, just obnoxious quips that feel dated as soon as they leave the actors’ mouths. It’s not even so bad it’s good, just a complete mess.”
- “Borderlands is easily one of the worst movies of the year. Fans will be pissed off with how much they get the characters wrong (especially Tina) [and] casual moviegoers will be unimpressed at how much it feels like a half-baked [Guardians of the Galaxy] rip-off.”
The original word from film critic Adriano Caporusso:
BORDERLANDS is a disaster. Filled with every cliché you can ponder, this film swaps the mayhem and imagination of the games for a lifeless, unfunny, and visually repulsive dud with annoying characters and a cast with not one ounce of chemistry.
— Adriano Caporusso🔜TIFF (@AdriCaporusso) August 7, 2024
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A recent trailer for the film:
Film synopsis:
Lilith (Blanchett), an infamous bounty hunter with a mysterious past, reluctantly returns to her home, Pandora, the most chaotic planet in the galaxy. Her mission is to find the missing daughter of Atlas (RamÃrez), the universe’s most powerful S.O.B. Lilith forms an unexpected alliance with a ragtag team of misfits – Roland (Hart), a seasoned mercenary on a mission; Tiny Tina (Greenblatt), a feral pre-teen demolitionist; Krieg (Munteanu), Tina’s musclebound protector; Tannis (Curtis), the oddball scientist who’s seen it all; and Claptrap (Black), a wiseass robot. Together, these unlikely heroes must battle an alien species and dangerous bandits to uncover one of Pandora’s most explosive secrets. The fate of the universe could be in their hands – but they’ll be fighting for something more: each other. Based on one of the best-selling videogame franchises of all time, welcome to BORDERLANDS.