Borderlands Movie Review – Not As Bad As Everyone Made It Out To Be 

When the Borderlands (2024) movie was first announced in 2015, we were still a few years away from the Borderlands 3 game. That said, the news after that was slow, and it wasn’t until after 2020 that the hype started to build, with casting selection and filming kicking off in earnest in 2021. Being a fan of the game franchise and spending a few hundred hours online with friends across the initial trilogy, especially with Borderlands 2, I had decided very early on to watch the movie in theatres when it was eventually released. 

That moment arrived this past weekend. However, there was a disturbance in the force after the first wave of reviews started rolling in. They’ve been bad. Having sat down to watch Borderlands, I realized it wasn’t all doom and gloom, as many others made it out to be.

An Easy Plot

The film’s premise is relatively simple: Lilith (Cate Blanchett), a grumpy bounty hunter, is hired by one of the universe’s most evil businessmen, an arms manufacturer named Atlas (Edgar Ramírez), to find his daughter, Tina (Ariana Greenblatt), on Pandora. Tiny Tina is being kept safe on Pandora by an unlikely duo: a former mercenary named Roland (Kevin Hart) and Psycho Krieg (Florian Munteanu). 

This team of misfits join forces to protect Tiny Tina from falling back into the grasp of her father, Atlas. Along their journey, they decide to seek out the keys to unlock the Vault, uncover the universe’s secrets and stop it from falling into the hands of Atlas. You can read more plot and backstory details in my previous post: 4 Things You Need to Know About Borderlands (2024). 

From Game to Live-Action

In a world where games, animation and live-action movies co-exist, the latter always seems to be deemed of more importance and value by the majority. As a fan of all genres, my only qualms were that a live-action film would strip away the art style made famous by the game. That said, it’s a small price to pay to see your favourite characters come to life on the big screen.

In the end, the casting in the Borderlands (2024) movie was mostly accurate – minus Kevin Hart is a far cry from the in-game character. Aside from him, the choices are solid, and the chemistry is decent. A few side characters were spot-on, while some were a bit wayward. For the most part, however, the team did a great job bringing the characters to life looking the part, at the very least. 

It may not be breathless action, but the sequences are enjoyable. The characteristics of the mannerisms of their gun-slinging work well, especially that of Lilith. It looks great on screen and does a lot to engage game fans. Add to this Tiny Tina’s continuous use of explosives, which makes for great fun – that is when they land on the mark. 

Where The Borderlands Movie Missed The Plot

As is often the case, squeezing hours’ worth of game backstory into a 100-minute feature would never be easy. Because of this, the time to build each of the characteristics and motivation was most evidently missing. There are snippets of a background provided for Lilith and Tiny Tina but lacking for everyone else. As a result, if this is your first introduction to Borderlands and the world of Pandora, you’ll miss out on many backstories. This isn’t a deal breaker, however.  

The one glaring aspect of the Borderlands (2024) movie that I couldn’t overcome, even as a hardcore fan, was some of the dialogue and pacing of the film. The discourse between characters sometimes seemed empty, cringed, and almost unnecessary. I put a lot of this down to director Eli Roth. While the actors have some chemistry, much of it doesn’t land due to bad storytelling and pacing. 

When you have the charm of Blanchett, who effortlessly takes on the role of Lilith, strutting around in style with her bad-ass gun-slinging, and merge this with Hart’s natural comedic timing but still end up with a relatively dry engagement onscreen, you have to wonder who is responsible for it. 

For the most part, Hart was subdued, leaving most of the comic relief to one of the franchise’s most beloved characters, Claptrap, played by Jack Black. This was probably the most grating of the issues with the film. Being a CGI-created robot, there would’ve been more flexibility regarding the choice of voice actor. I can only assume that the attempt to distort Black’s voice heavily was an attempt to tie in a more prominent Hollywood name for better pull. However, when voice actors David Eddings (first four entries to the Borderlands franchise) or Jim Foronda may have both been available, it seems like a missed opportunity for some continuity and the same comedic undertones they brought to the character in-game. 

Jamie Lee Curtis as Dr Patricia Tannis seems only to exist to provide some exposition for non-fans. Her acting feels stiff compared to everyone else, and I wondered whether it was another decision from Roth, as we all know Curtis’ skill set as an actress. 

While I could get over most of Curtis’ and Black’s performances and the director’s forced to push for laughs by continually making Claptrap sing and dance in Borderlands, I couldn’t get behind Edgar Ramírez’s Atlas. The less said about that performance, the better. 

Lastly, there is a lack of overall exploration of Pandora. The movie explores three prominent locations but leaves much of the outback unexplored. There are plenty of creatures that hinder your easy progress in the game, but they are only seen in the background for a few seconds as they pass by. The world is a character on its own, and a lot of that is missing in the film. 

Is The Borderlands Movie As Bad As They Said?

In short, the answer is no. However, there’s a lot that could’ve been done much better. Taking bits and pieces from the first two games of the Borderlands franchise would always be an uphill task when trying to fit that into a 100-minute runtime. The movie feels like a cross between Mad Max and Guardians of the Galaxy but, unfortunately, misses the mark on both ends. 

Already knowing the characters and most of the story from the games makes it a much easier watch than rocking up to it green. It’s nowhere near as bad as many live-action films I’ve witnessed. 

There’s a lot left on the table that could’ve been explored. And now, with the seemingly poor showing that may yet to come at the Box Office, I’ll be disappointed that we may not see the likes of Handsome Jack come to life on the big screen.