Eli Roth's Borderlands is so disappointing, it's actually kind of comforting. For audiences unfamiliar with the video game series, Borderlands will be a fun but forgettable sci-fi adventure. For those who have been waiting a decade for the film adaptation of a beloved franchise, it's an assortment of bizarre choices and letdowns. In an era in which video games are being adapted into seasons-long shows, it feels like a throwback to watch such a lacklustre cinematic attempt.
Borderlands follows the story of bounty hunter Lilith (Cate Blanchett), the mercenary Roland (Kevin Hart), and the muscle Krieg (Florian Munteanu), who are separately involved in a mission to save Tiny Tina (Ariana Greenblatt), a rich man's daughter. It turns out Tiny Tina holds a secret that will change their fates forever. Formulaic but entertaining, we know what to expect from a film like this: big explosions, awesome kills, a found family will be formed, a cool planet will be explored.
The action makes up the highlights of the film and also one of its glaring issues. Things go boom — as they should — and the fights are engaging and kinetic. However, the action doesn't feel like Borderlands. The franchise is known for over-the-top gore, epic weapons and a comic-like vibe. What the film delivers, though, is just another action movie, with so little violence that it earned a PG-13 rating.
Casting decisions like Blanchett as badass bounty hunter Lilith, or Hart as a powerful ex-soldier, would be interesting in another movie, but when these choices stray so far from the source material, it feels misguided, confusing and miscast. At least Jack Black delivers as the voice of the robot Claptrap.
Putting Eli Roth in charge makes sense on paper. The Borderlands games are ridiculous, absurd, bloody romps. Players are always looking for better guns, and new ways to get headshots that make a satisfying squelch with a little bit of toilet humour as a cherry on top of the violence. But it feels like he's never played the games at all. Even when the film references the opening to the original Borderlands, it misses out on that signature violence. Yes, there's a bus that drives past a billboard, but no skags are run over and no memorable song plays.
Therein lies the biggest problem: it's a fun movie, but there's no heart. Outside of a couple fart jokes, everything that makes Borderlands distinctly Borderlands isn't present, and that means it doesn't stand out.
It's only when Claptrap tells Lilith she's a bad person that the audience realizes she's supposed to be a bad person. Most of the characters are forgettable outside of who plays them — to the point that I forgot Krieg was in the movie (although his Drax-like personality did mean that he delivers the few actual laughs of the film). Lilith's maternal relationship with Tina is sweet, but the stories of the whole crew's friendships don't really matter. They seem much more likely to go their separate ways than remain friends after the plot wraps up.
Come for the explosions, but don't stay for the plot or the characters. Fans of the games are probably better off doing another run-through than checking out Borderlands.