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.
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Discussion (19 replies)
Join Discussion →Professional mainstream critics are so out of touch with actual audiences that I automatically distrust anything they say.
A borderlands movie being a disaster wouldn't be surprising in the slightest. Also wasn't this movie greenlit during the peak woke era? I haven't seen it but heard that the last game was also woke.
"MadMummy76, post: 87912, member: 1298" wrote:A borderlands movie being a disaster wouldn't be surprising in the slightest.
This is true.
I'm pretty sure I seen worse movies with better reviews then this one (probably), not going to the movies for this one anyways, but will still end up watching it sometime.
I'm on the fence with this one and honestly never really got into the games, although I do have them all from Epic/Steam or something. I will say the previews didn't give me much hope but I will try to give it a watch when it hits streaming.
This is a story as old as time itself. I was very interested in Borderlands during the development of the first game, right up to the point when they inexplicably decided to switch to cell shaded graphics. I was immediately out after that. I did end up playing the game much later and did not like it at all, and not just the graphics. It was probably my first looter shooter experience, and it was too much already.
This means I have zero expectations from a movie, if I'd see it it would be as a stand alone product.
"MadMummy76, post: 87934, member: 1298" wrote:I did end up playing the game much later and did not like it at all, and not just the graphics. It was probably my first looter shooter experience, and it was too much already.
I consider myself a fan of the games, but not the first one, that one is pretty meh compared to the rest. Story wise the 2nd one is probably the best one, but the slag mechanic you need to use on the new game modes to get anywhere is a big flaw imo and that the normal mode does not allow you to get to max lvl, it stops scaling at a certain point.
The pre sequel is decent but made by another team and it shows, story is servicable, gameplay is decent, the oxygen and low gravity is more of a gimmick then tought trough.
the 3rd one is by far the best gameplay wise but the bad guys don't compare to handsome jack from game 2 great qol improvements, lot's of content and varied vault hunters.
I would not discard the franchise on the first game is what I'm taking a long way to say.
It all started with the horrible casting, and I'm sure it went downhill from there.
"Denpepe, post: 87946, member: 284" wrote:I would not discard the franchise on the first game is what I'm taking a long way to say.
That's OK, I've tried the second one too and it was as if someone designed it to check every box I dislike about games.
I played through the first game at a LANParty, and honestly the fun of playing co-op was all that could get us through it. The 2nd game I couldn't be bothered to finish. During COVID-19 I started a run through the 3rd game with a friend in local co-op (I was using one of his spare PCs), cuz we both got free copies, but we never did finish that run. Never played any of the other games. But yyeeaahh the series just isn't for me.
It doesn't matter how good or bad the video game series itself is. A movie or show based on a video game IP is gonna be @ss. Not that I am one to believe critics, but with this movie I could easily see it being a piece of trash. It wouldn't surprise me in the least. It looked like it was gonna be crap from the moment they showed the first images, the first trailer.
I have a few of the games, but never really cared for them TBH. The movie is nothing I'm interested in either.
I'm hearing its legitimately terrible. I've not even heard of any mention of wokeness or anything. It's just bad. Badly written, badly acted, bad special effects, etc.
Well, that pretty much matches the feeling I got when I saw the first trailer.
"DrezKill, post: 87969, member: 230" wrote:It doesn't matter how good or bad the video game series itself is. A movie or show based on a video game IP is gonna be @ss. Not that I am one to believe critics, but with this movie I could easily see it being a piece of trash. It wouldn't surprise me in the least. It looked like it was gonna be crap from the moment they showed the first images, the first trailer.
I would disagree fallout series has been good.
"Grimlakin, post: 87993, member: 215" wrote:I would disagree fallout series has been good.
It's nice looking and visually faithful to the Bethesda games, I think that's what makes people think that it is actually good. But the story, the plot, and the characters are awful. "Just turn off your brain and enjoy it" - No, I need my brain to enjoy something, a good TV series is good because it makes you think. If you are not allowed to think about the plot then all that remains are the visuals. Hence my first point.
Discussion (19 replies)
Join Discussion →Professional mainstream critics are so out of touch with actual audiences that I automatically distrust anything they say.
A borderlands movie being a disaster wouldn't be surprising in the slightest. Also wasn't this movie greenlit during the peak woke era? I haven't seen it but heard that the last game was also woke.
This is true.
I'm pretty sure I seen worse movies with better reviews then this one (probably), not going to the movies for this one anyways, but will still end up watching it sometime.
I'm on the fence with this one and honestly never really got into the games, although I do have them all from Epic/Steam or something. I will say the previews didn't give me much hope but I will try to give it a watch when it hits streaming.
This is a story as old as time itself. I was very interested in Borderlands during the development of the first game, right up to the point when they inexplicably decided to switch to cell shaded graphics. I was immediately out after that. I did end up playing the game much later and did not like it at all, and not just the graphics. It was probably my first looter shooter experience, and it was too much already.
This means I have zero expectations from a movie, if I'd see it it would be as a stand alone product.
I consider myself a fan of the games, but not the first one, that one is pretty meh compared to the rest. Story wise the 2nd one is probably the best one, but the slag mechanic you need to use on the new game modes to get anywhere is a big flaw imo and that the normal mode does not allow you to get to max lvl, it stops scaling at a certain point.
The pre sequel is decent but made by another team and it shows, story is servicable, gameplay is decent, the oxygen and low gravity is more of a gimmick then tought trough.
the 3rd one is by far the best gameplay wise but the bad guys don't compare to handsome jack from game 2 great qol improvements, lot's of content and varied vault hunters.
I would not discard the franchise on the first game is what I'm taking a long way to say.
It all started with the horrible casting, and I'm sure it went downhill from there.
That's OK, I've tried the second one too and it was as if someone designed it to check every box I dislike about games.
I played through the first game at a LANParty, and honestly the fun of playing co-op was all that could get us through it. The 2nd game I couldn't be bothered to finish. During COVID-19 I started a run through the 3rd game with a friend in local co-op (I was using one of his spare PCs), cuz we both got free copies, but we never did finish that run. Never played any of the other games. But yyeeaahh the series just isn't for me.
It doesn't matter how good or bad the video game series itself is. A movie or show based on a video game IP is gonna be @ss. Not that I am one to believe critics, but with this movie I could easily see it being a piece of trash. It wouldn't surprise me in the least. It looked like it was gonna be crap from the moment they showed the first images, the first trailer.
I have a few of the games, but never really cared for them TBH. The movie is nothing I'm interested in either.
I'm hearing its legitimately terrible. I've not even heard of any mention of wokeness or anything. It's just bad. Badly written, badly acted, bad special effects, etc.
Well, that pretty much matches the feeling I got when I saw the first trailer.
I would disagree fallout series has been good.
It's nice looking and visually faithful to the Bethesda games, I think that's what makes people think that it is actually good. But the story, the plot, and the characters are awful. "Just turn off your brain and enjoy it" - No, I need my brain to enjoy something, a good TV series is good because it makes you think. If you are not allowed to think about the plot then all that remains are the visuals. Hence my first point.