The Borderlands movie premiered in Los Angeles on August 6 and now, 24 hours later, we're starting to see some of the critical sentiment filter in. In summary, the majority of early reviews are overwhelmingly negative.
Borderlands is directed by Eli Roth, a director primarily known for horror and slasher films. It's not based on any specific Borderlands game, but rather an amalgamation of the popular characters and environments we've seen in the Borderlands series over the past decade and a half. It features an all-star cast, namely Cate Blanchett (Lilith), Jack Black (Claptrap), Kevin Hart (Roland) and Jamie Lee Curtis (Patricia Tannis). The rest of the main cast is rounded out by Ariana Greenblatt (Tiny Tina), Florian Munteanu (Krieg) and Edgar Ramirez (Atlas).
An Uninspiring Return To Pandora
Matthew Simpson of MoviesWeTexted writes, "Oh hey, I can tell you I've seen Borderlands now and that it's really bad. I really wanted to like it, but an uninspired plot and several phoned-in performances and being in a weird place that looks both expensive and cheap at the same time makes it a huge misfire."
"Borderlands is a baffling video game adaptation. There is potential for great world-building, but it never happens due to a rushed and dull screenplay; the set design is impressive but the film looks cheap due to poor CGI. Cate Blanchett, Arianna Greenblatt and Jack Black are all great, even if their characters are underdeveloped and the majority of the jokes fall flat," says Darren Zakus of Movie Scene Canada.
Adrian Caporusso of Bitesize Breakdown doesn't pull punches, writing, "Borderlands is a disaster. Filled with every cliche, 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."
The Hollywood Handle was more positive in its appraisal of Borderlands. "Borderlands is a fun PG-13 action movie. It completely relies on Cate Blanchett's star power to carry itself to the finish line — and she delivers. While there's nothing that particularly makes it stand out from the crowd, the film is enjoyable from start to finish and has decent pacing throughout. Jack Black is also a comedic powerhouse."
It should be noted that the video game series Borderlands is M-rated, while the movie is PG-13 to appeal to younger audiences. There was sure to have been a balancing act that Roth had to play when adapting the game.
More robust reviews will filter in over the next few days, but the early signs aren't promising. Borderlands releases to the public in the United States and United Kingdom on August 9.
