As a lifelong gamer, I’m constantly amazed at how much video games have evolved since their inception. In just a few decades gaming has progressed from Pong’s basic gameplay and jagged gray pixels to visually stunning story-driven epics like God of War (2018).
The gaming industry is all grown and sexy, but the video game movie industry is still stuck in its awkward phase. Time after time, Hollywood finds new ways to bungle adaptations of what should be surefire hits like Streetfighter, Assassin’s Creed, and Warcraft.
After 30 years and nearly 50 live-action adaptations, expecting a great video game movie is like Charlie Brown thinking Lucy won’t yank away the football. But in the last five years, something strange happened, and this cursed genre has given audiences reason for hope.
Pokémon: Detective Pikachu and Sonic the Hedgehog were solid if unspectacular, films. Both movies took iconic video game characters and told stories that built upon their mythologies in exciting new ways. And then with 2021’s Werewolves Within, director Josh Ruben took a niche VR game and transformed it into one of the year’s best comedies.
And that’s when 2023’s The Last of Us flew in off the top rope with the flying elbow drop, proving video game franchises can stay true to the source material and still deliver thrilling, emotionally harrowing, and critically praised stories.
So forgive me for getting a smidge excited after hearing Lionsgate was releasing a film based on Gearbox Software’s hit series Borderlands.
The Borderlands games are hyper-violent first-person shooters that play like a mix of Mad Max and Indiana Jones, with the comedic tone of Deadpool and Wolverine. What’s not to love?
Borderlands’ director Eli Roth does his best to appease fans by incorporating popular characters and settings from the game into the film while mostly staying true to the series lore.
The story features Cate Blanchett as Lilith, a tough and grizzled bounty hunter. Atlas (Edgar Ramírez), one of the most powerful men in the galaxy, recruits her to retrieve his kidnapped daughter Tina (Ariana Greenblatt). Tracking down the girl sounds like easy money, but Atlas doesn’t tell Lilith the whole story.
Tina is hidden away on Pandora, a place overrun with deadly creatures and bloodthirsty low-IQ bandits. Somewhere on Pandora lies a secret vault, holding priceless alien technology. It seems Tina may hold the answer to opening the vault, making the child one of the most valuable assets in the galaxy. To protect Tina, Lilith reluctantly teams up with a colourful group of weirdos including a soldier (Kevin Hart), a robot (Jack Black), a scientist (Jamie Lee Curtis,) and a musclebound psycho (Florian Munteanu).
It’s clear the people making this film had plenty of love in their hearts for the Borderlands games. Visually, this is one of the most spot-on adaptations of a video game. Roth clearly gets the series comic book aesthetic and madcap energy.
Most of the characters look like their digital counterparts while the creatures, vehicles, and settings are immediately recognizable to anyone who’s spent time playing the games.
Gamers will appreciate how the action sequences capture the frenetic pacing and visceral intensity of playing the games. I didn’t find the film’s action beats well-choreographed or even fun, however, it does recreate that feeling of mowing down waves of enemies in a first-person shooter.
Borderlands diehards will feel right at home in Roth’s authentic vision of Pandora, but that doesn’t mean they’ll enjoy themselves while they’re there. This movie is a colourful mess; a flurry of bullets and bad line readings that left me in a 100-minute brain fog. I can’t imagine what this film offers nongamers since the underdeveloped characters and flimsy story won’t win over any new fans.
There’s no arguing that Borderlands has a stacked cast of actors. Sadly, they’re dreadfully miscast and lack any hint of chemistry.
Cate Blanchett is a Hollywood treasure capable of bringing depth and charm to almost any character. Not in this film, though. She just never finds her stride here as a swaggering Han Solo-type. She’s cool under pressure and kicks loads of ass, but it never feels like she’s having any fun.
Part of the problem is Roth and Joe Crombie’s screenplay, which doesn’t give the cast much to work with. The lame writing and underwhelming performances make the game’s most beloved characters feel like watered-down versions of themselves.
This is an action comedy that lacks any sense of wit and charm. The dialogue in this film could use a few punch-ups to address the many cringe-inducing jokes. This becomes a glaring issue since the Borderlands games are hilarious. There are two-minute cut scenes in Borderlands games that made me laugh more than this entire movie.
Borderlands is a hollowed-out version of a James Gunn flick. If you want to see an entertaining story about a ragtag group of misfits teaming up you’re better off watching The Suicide Squad or Peacemaker. For a PG-13 option, there’s always The Goonies, Jumanji, and Zathura (if you’re looking for a deep cut).
Borderlands is visually vibrant, tonally chaotic, and emotionally lifeless. Roth mimics the games’ look and feel in pixel-perfect fashion but tells a story lacking heart and soul. The film serves as a strong reminder why classics like Star Wars stand the test of time. X-wing dogfights and lightsaber duels provide dazzling eye candy, but it was a lonely farm boy on a desert planet who captured our hearts and imaginations.
