After a very long wait, the live-action Borderlands movie finally arrives in theaters this weekend. But before that, the movie was screened for fans and critics in Los Angeles. And, based on the first impressions being posted online, the Borderlands movie sounds like a complete mess.
Borderlands, which hits theaters around the country on August 9, is based on the popular looter shooters developed by Gearbox and published by 2K Games. First announced back in 2020, the PG-13-rated live-action movie directed by Eli Roth spent years in production hell. And every time we got a peek at it, the movie looked pretty bad! But there was always a chance that the fully finished film would surprise us all and be amazing. Well, that doesnât seem to be the case, based on the overwhelmingly negative first impressions online.
âBorderlands is a disaster,â posted critic Adriano Caporusso. âFilled with every clichĂ© 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.â
Matthew Simpson, a critic at Movies We Texted About, posted: â[The movie] is really bad. I really wanted to like it, but an uninspired plot + several phoned-in performances + being stuck in a weird place where it looks both expensive and cheap at the same time make it a huge misfire.â Simpson did offer one positive note, saying Jack Black is âgreatâ in the film and the only actor who âmatches the energy of the games.â
âBorderlands feels like what an out-of-touch executive thinks the âcool kidsâ find appealing,â tweeted film critic Edgar Ortega. âThere is not a single earnest character moment here, just obnoxious quips that feel dated as soon as they leave the actorsâ mouths. Itâs not even so bad itâs good, just a complete mess.â
âBorderlands is easily one of the worst movies of the year,â posted critic Shak Lambert. âFans will be pissed off with how much they get the characters wrong (especially Tina) [and] casual moviegoers will be unimpressed at how much it feels like a half-baked [Guardians of the Galaxy] rip-off.â
Similarly, freelance film critic Sean Patrick Kelly posted that while the film has an âexceptional level of detail for those who have played the video games,â itâs likely that most people will still accuse it of âbeing a Guardians of the Galaxy rip-off.â
Not everyone completely hated the Borderlands movie…
There were some slightly more positive reactions, though. Many critics praised Jack Black and Cate Blanchettâs performances and suggested fans of the franchise will get a kick out of Easter eggs and references sprinkled throughout the movie.
âBorderlands is a fun PG-13 action movie,â posted Hollywood Handle. âIt completely relies on Cate Blanchettâs star power to carry itself to the finish line â and she delivers. While thereâs 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. Aside from some corny flashback scenes and acting decisions that donât always land, Borderlands is nothing to complain about but nothing to rejoice over.â
Borderlands content creator Killer Six said the movie was âbetterâ than they expected, adding: âThe plot is kinda a mess in true Borderlands fashion, but the humor and heart are there. Lots of fan service moments, but ultimately I donât know if it will resonate. 6.75/10″
So yeah, it sounds like the Borderlands movie isnât very good. Iâll be curious to see how it fares at the box office, especially with the big, similar action-comedy movie Deadpool & Wolverine already in theaters and doing very well. Will Borderlands continue the recent trend of video game adaptions being pretty good and successful, or will it burn out and flop? Weâll know soon enough.
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