TL;DR – While I will give it points for getting some of the visual style right, and something must have gotten that cast to sign up. But the final product was a soulless mess of nothingness.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene that you don’t need to stay for.

Warning – There is strobing effects.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Borderlands Review –

For a long time, there has been a question about whether you can write an engaging video game adaptation? They have been hit and miss, and many were just made for tax write-offs [allegedly]. However, in recent years, we have found that you can make that translation on both TV and in the cinema, which makes it even more frustrating that we take a return to the past with today’s entry.  

So, to set the scene, we open around the planet of Pandora, where a secret vault containing alien information has drawn vault hunters for generations, leaving the planet trashed and strewn with violent gangs. One man who is after that power is Atlas (Edgar Ramírez), which makes it concerning when one of his own soldiers, Roland (Kevin Hart), kidnaps his daughter Tina (Ariana Greenblatt) and takes her into the quagmire. It has been months, and no one has been able to find her, which is when he goes to Lilith (Cate Blanchett), the one bounty hunter that can take on the planet because she used to live there.

Okay … look, this is not a good movie. However, that is not to say that it is entirely devoid of interesting things. First, I must shout out to the costuming and make-up team. They captured visually the essence of the video game. They do struggle to make that transition from cell shading to real life, bar the character Mad Moxxi (Gina Gershon), but it is a real help. Then there are those cast members who do feel like they are right from the games. Ariana Greenblatt is swinging for all the fences, and I appreciate it. Also, I give respect to Florian Munteanu, whose physicality was desperately needed. Look, Cate Blanchett is really trying, and it makes it at least watchable in places, but she is not given much to work with.

While there are some redeeming qualities in places, unfortunately, that was not enough to save what inevitably left me feeling like it was a hollow mess. The first significant issue is the script because I don’t think we ended up with a coherent product. This very much felt like it was a movie made by a committee, not knowing if it wanted to be edgy or safe inside the same conversation. Much of the dialogue was uninspired at best and mostly clunky half-exposition/ half-poor banter. Then, there is the overall story that does not have much going for it. This is not helped by significant characters like Roland being superfluous, making you wonder why Kevin Hart is here, and others like Claptrap (Jack Black) failing completely.       

This film could not land the tone at any point in the proceeding. One of the best things about going to a cinema is the collective enjoyment you get from watching as a group. While there was that hype right at the start, you could feel the energy of the room fall off so fast. Throughout the runtime, there was only one joke that landed, and that laugh felt more out of sympathy than anything else. Quite often, it felt like the film thought that as long as they spray-painted graffiti over everything, it would be fine, but you can feel that style of substance throughout. Also, on the production front, nearly all of the action scenes, bar the first Tina Battle, are lacklustre, the music felt like it was an afterthought, and it was clear that a lot of the visual effects needed more time.   

In the end, do we recommend Borderlands? Unfortunately, not. While it might be visually there, it fails on the tone, the narrative, and really the film. It is honestly a real shame because there was a charm in that first Borderlands game [until the ending], and I have fond memories of playing it with friends [once again until the ending]. However, I didn’t find any of that here. If you liked Borderlands, we would recommend to you Five Nights at Freddy’s.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you watched Borderlands?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day. 


Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Borderlands
Directed by – Eli Roth
Screenplay by – Eli Roth & Joe Crombie
Story by – Eli Roth
Based on – Borderlands by Gearbox Software
Music by – Steve Jablonsky
Cinematography by – Rogier Stoffers
Edited by – Julian Clarke & Evan Henke
Production/Distribution Companies – Media Capital Technologies, Arad Productions, Picturestart, Gearbox Studios, 2K, Lionsgate & Roadshow Films
Starring – Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Edgar Ramírez, Ariana Greenblatt, Florian Munteanu, Gina Gershon, Janina Gavankar & Jamie Lee Curtis with Haley Bennett, Bobby Lee, Cheyenne Jackson, Charles Babalola, Benjamin Byron Davis, Steven Boyer & Ryann Redmond   
Rating – Australia: M; Canada: PG; Germany: 12; New Zealand: M; United Kingdom: 12A; United States: PG-13