Borderlands May Have Big Names, But It’s An Even Bigger Disappointment
Borderlands is a movie I wanted to give the benefit of the doubt as a film lover. Gamers were upset with the casting and the trailer, but I figured, as someone who didn’t play the game, an action-packed sci-fi movie about strangers on a quest could be an exciting adventure. But ultimately, I left wondering why they even put this out.
This movie sold me on possible hopes and dreams with a poster that gave off The Suicide Squad aesthetic, but when I arrived, I found out it’s more like a bad Guardians of the Galaxy, with characters you don’t know or end up caring about.
The story begins with the “special one” Tiny Tina (Ariana Greenblatt), the daughter of rich and cocky antagonist Atlas (Edgar Ramírez). In the opening scene, she is taken by Roland (Kevin Hart) to get her away from Atlas’s evil master plan of gaining access to a vault containing alien technology of immeasurable power. But the real focus is on Lilith, the hard-ass bounty hunter with a troubled past. Played by Oscar winner Cate Blanchett, you’d expect her character to be powerful and compelling, but her edginess feels cheap and predictable.
Lilith is approached by Atlas in his search for his daughter, one of the keys to the vault. Of course, Lilith doesn’t care about his missing daughter — she even kills off his messengers. She’s a bounty hunter, not a savior or a babysitter. But in a very predictable turn of events, she hops on board after Atlas offers her an amount of money she can’t refuse. While this helps the storyline move forward, is it just me or would a real trained bounty hunter be able to sniff out bullshit? But again, it was all about the money. This adventure forces her back into a world she hoped to escape — Pandora, or for Lilith, her home planet. There, she finds the snarky, talkative Claptrap (Jack Black) who was programmed to help her. By who or why? Neither of them know, but, for better or worse, they are stuck together.
She and her new partner eventually finds Tiny Tina, who seems to have settled down and would not be captured without a fight, along with her best friend, the masked psycho Krieg (Florian Munteanu), who gives Lilith a battle she wasn’t expecting. I have to admit, Ariana Greenblatt was entertaining as a goofy rascal running around throwing bombs, but those four minutes of fun aren’t enough for me to say it’s worthwhile.
Eventually, these four very different weirdos — and, of course, Claptrap — are thrust into an unexpected adventure as Atlas’s true intentions become clearer to Lilith. Tannis, played by Jamie Lee Curtis, also joins in, bringing her quirky genius as the resident vault expert. Her past with Lilith causes some initial friction, but that storyline quickly fades and doesn’t deliver the emotional angst they seem to have aimed for.
Instead, we jump right into the adventure. They have to explore Pandora in search of the mysterious vault that, until now Lilith was convinced was just a legend her mother wasted her time on. Rescuing Tiny Tina wasn’t on Lilith’s list, but, along the way, her past compels her to see this through. There’s supposed to be a connection between them, as if Lilith sees herself in Tiny — a young girl forced to grow up too quickly — but they don’t build on this connection enough to fully develop its importance. I wanted to see their bond grow, but they feel like strangers right up to the very last second.
The story itself is missing an emotional factor. I walked away feeling like I didn’t know these characters and like they didn’t know each other. I missed moments of connection. It’s almost as if there were too many characters in the story for them to hone in on the relationships they were trying to build.
Although I can't speak from a gamer's perspective, I was still confused by the choice of Kevin Hart for Roland. The dialogue and his relationship with Ariana Greenblatt’s character made me picture Roland as a closed-off, tough, and protective figure. The casting of Hart felt off, especially since, if you're going to cast him, you should at least give him some comedic lines. Honestly, the only one who delivered on that front was Jack Black as Claptrap. His inability to hold his tongue brought some much-needed humor, making the film more bearable.
This movie is proof that an amazing cast, convincing fight scenes, and killer sets are not enough to sell a story like this. Is it time to leave video game adaptations alone?
Borderlands is streaming now in theaters.
