{"id":253006,"date":"2024-08-09T21:45:46","date_gmt":"2024-08-09T21:45:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/09\/the-borderlands-movie-is-an-astounding-waste-of-potential\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T17:12:38","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T17:12:38","slug":"the-borderlands-movie-is-an-astounding-waste-of-potential","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/09\/the-borderlands-movie-is-an-astounding-waste-of-potential\/","title":{"rendered":"The Borderlands movie is an astounding waste of potential"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>On paper, Eli Roth&#8217;s <em>Borderlands<\/em> adaptation sounds like a recipe for a solid sci-fi romp: Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett as the wise-cracking gunslinger Lilith; Jack Black, fresh off of voicing Bowser, as the quippy\/annoying Claptrap; and freaking Jamie Lee Curtis back in the genre fray after <em>Everything Everywhere, All At Once<\/em>. And yet the film is a lifeless slog better suited to an episode of <em>Mystery Science Theater, <\/em>completely squandering the potential of those elements.<\/p>\n<p>Like the original game, <em>Borderlands<\/em> is mostly set on the wild alien planet of Pandora \u2014 a name that clearly should have been changed since audiences now associate it mostly with the Avatar films. Roth&#8217;s adaptation makes significant changes to the game&#8217;s plot and characters: It begins with Tiny Tina (Ariana Greenblatt) being rescued from a space prison by the former soldier Roland (Kevin Hart [?!]). Inexplicably, they run into the former Psycho, Kriege (Florian Munteanu), and together they all escape to find a legendary vault on Pandora, which holds untold alien treasures.<\/p>\n<div class=\"caas-iframe-wrapper\" data-embed-anchor=\"8489b430-fdba-5ade-a8e5-0570b5dfdaf0\">\n<div class=\"caas-iframe youtube\" style=\"padding-bottom:56%\" data-type=\"youtube\">\n<blockquote data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lU_NKNZljoQ?rel=0\" scrolling=\"no\"><p><noscript><iframe title=\"Borderlands (2024) Official Trailer - Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jack Black\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lU_NKNZljoQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/noscript><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Meanwhile, in a nondescript city on another planet, Lilith gets recruited by the head of the Atlas Corporation (a scenery-chewing Edgar Ramirez) to rescue Tina, who he claims is her daughter. Like a maze hastily created for a kids menu, you can easily predict the path the film will take. Lilith reluctantly heads back to Pandora, she teams up with the other characters, and plot points are checked off with the excitement of a DMV visit<\/p>\n<p>There are obligatory action scenes, as you&#8217;d expect, but it all feels routine \u2014 CG explosions, half-hearted choreography and minimal stakes.<\/p>\n<p>Blanchett is an actress who has proven herself to have an enormous amount of range. She can play an awesome\/terrifying Galadriel in <em>The Lord of the Rings<\/em>, and a pompous conductor in <em>T\u00e1r<\/em>. But while there are some base pleasures in seeing her rolling around with futuristic guns, she just never feels comfortable in the skin of an action heroine. There&#8217;s none of the ferocity of Charlize Theron&#8217;s most physical roles, or even Angelina Jolie in a middling thriller like <em>Salt <\/em>(a movie that, I assure you, is far more fun than <em>Borderlands<\/em>). Blanchett just seems too cool for this shit.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"caas-figure prestige-figure xlarge\">\n<div class=\"caas-img-container caas-img-loader caas-breakout-shift\">\n<div class=\"breakout-img-container\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"caas-img caas-lazy has-preview has-width\" alt=\"Kevin Hart as Roland, Jamie Lee Curtis as Tannis, Ariana Greenblatt as Tiny Tina, Florian Munteanu as Krieg, and Cate Blanchett as Lilith in Borderlands. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/_YH0mGiET.xu9wcfihF4lA--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTM4NDA7aD0xNjEy\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2024-08\/c5ec8d60-5663-11ef-b7fe-78c295a97141\" height=\"806\" width=\"1920\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Kevin Hart as Roland, Jamie Lee Curtis as Tannis, Ariana Greenblatt as Tiny Tina, Florian Munteanu as Krieg, and Cate Blanchett as Lilith in Borderlands. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/_YH0mGiET.xu9wcfihF4lA--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTM4NDA7aD0xNjEy\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2024-08\/c5ec8d60-5663-11ef-b7fe-78c295a97141\" height=\"806\" width=\"1920\" class=\"caas-img has-width\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"caption-collapse\"><span class=\"caption-credit\"> Photo by Lionsgate<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>And unlike other films featuring a rag-tag group of heroes, like <em>Guardians of the Galaxy<\/em> or the excellent <em>Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves<\/em>, there\u2019s little time spent building up relationships in <em>Borderlands<\/em>. Roland seems noble, but we never really learn who he is and what\u2019s driving him to save Tina. (I also question the wisdom of casting a comedian like Hart in a mostly straight role.) Krieg is a shell of a character who gets only a few lines of stunted dialog and no actual development. Jamie Lee Curtis\u2019s role as the \u201cxenoarcheologist\u201d Tannis makes no sense at all.<\/p>\n<p>What you have, ultimately, is a boring film filled with empty characters and actors who would be better off being in literally anything else. If Cate Blanchett sold out for a corny commercial campaign \u2014 if she <a data-i13n=\"cpos:1;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=AeLuQQH1OHA\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:reenacted Pacino\u2019s Dunkaccino song for real;cpos:1;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">reenacted Pacino\u2019s Dunkaccino song for real<\/a> \u2014 it would still be less embarrassing than starring in this failure. In an era where many game adaptations have been surprisingly watchable, like the <a data-i13n=\"cpos:2;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/2020-02-18-sonic-the-hedgehog-live-action-movie-review.html#:~:text=Shockingly%2C%20though%2C%20the%20Sonic%20movie,that%20so%20many%20were%20expecting.\" data-ylk=\"slk:Sonic;cpos:2;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Sonic<\/a> and <a data-i13n=\"cpos:3;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/super-mario-bros-movie-review-fun-safe-romp-135146207.html#:~:text=Super%20Mario%20Bros.%20is%20an,comedic%20stylings%20of%20Jack%20Black).\" data-ylk=\"slk:Super Mario Bros. movies;cpos:3;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>Super Mario Bros.<\/em> movies<\/a>, and a masterpiece of a show like <a data-i13n=\"cpos:4;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/the-last-of-us-season-one-hbo-review-080135969.html#:~:text=Details%20like%20cinematography%20and%20music,much%20like%20the%20game%20itself.&amp;text=More%20interesting%20is%20how%20The,the%20world%20and%20its%20inhabitants.\" data-ylk=\"slk:The Last of Us;cpos:4;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>The Last of Us<\/em><\/a> exists, <em>Borderlands<\/em> feels like a unforced error.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"caas-figure prestige-figure large\">\n<div class=\"caas-img-container caas-img-loader caas-breakout-shift\">\n<div class=\"breakout-img-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"caas-img caas-lazy has-preview has-width\" alt=\"Cate Blanchett as Lilith, Ariana Greenblatt as Tiny Tina, Kevin Hart as Roland, Florian Munteanu as Krieg and  Jamie Lee Curtis as Tannis in Borderlands. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/b.Hpp2QBc0SMMBf7rsPepw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTI4ODA7aD0xNjIw\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2024-08\/c5ecb470-5663-11ef-bfff-810aabd34317\" height=\"810\" width=\"1440\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cate Blanchett as Lilith, Ariana Greenblatt as Tiny Tina, Kevin Hart as Roland, Florian Munteanu as Krieg and  Jamie Lee Curtis as Tannis in Borderlands. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/b.Hpp2QBc0SMMBf7rsPepw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTI4ODA7aD0xNjIw\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2024-08\/c5ecb470-5663-11ef-bfff-810aabd34317\" height=\"810\" width=\"1440\" class=\"caas-img has-width\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"caption-collapse\"><span class=\"caption-credit\"> Photo by Lionsgate<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Instead of being a big-budget film, it could have been better off as <a data-i13n=\"cpos:5;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/the-fallout-tv-series-is-a-very-awesome-tv-show-130039789.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:a streaming series like Fallout;cpos:5;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">a streaming series like <em>Fallout<\/em><\/a>. Perhaps it didn\u2019t need two Oscar winners<em>\u00a0<\/em>and a well-known comedian like Kevin Hart. They probably should have stuck with the screenplay from the <em>Chernobyl<\/em> and <a data-i13n=\"cpos:6;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/the-last-of-us-season-one-hbo-review-080135969.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:Last of Us;cpos:6;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>Last of Us<\/em><\/a> showrunnner Craig Mazin, instead of bringing in more writers. (One of the listed screenwriters is &#8220;Joe Crombie,&#8221; a pseudonym for someone who didn\u2019t want their name attached to this film.)<\/p>\n<p>As it is, though, <em>Borderlands <\/em>is pure wasted potential. Go replay the games \u2014 hell, go watch some of the <a data-i13n=\"cpos:7;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=bddlWHz1YGo\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Borderlands fan films;cpos:7;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>Borderlands<\/em> fan films<\/a> \u2014 instead of sitting through this atrocity.<\/p>\n<div class=\"caas-iframe-wrapper\" data-embed-anchor=\"d188432f-a2a7-59ae-8531-af52533dde4d\">\n<div class=\"caas-iframe youtube\" style=\"padding-bottom:56%\" data-type=\"youtube\">\n<blockquote data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bddlWHz1YGo?rel=0\" scrolling=\"no\"><p><noscript><iframe title=\"Home Sweet Sanctuary: a borderlands fan film\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bddlWHz1YGo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/noscript><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/entertainment\/tv-movies\/the-borderlands-movie-is-an-astounding-waste-of-potential-160032875.html?src=rss\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] On paper, Eli Roth&#8217;s Borderlands adaptation sounds like a recipe for a solid sci-fi romp: Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett as the wise-cracking gunslinger Lilith; Jack<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":253007,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[159],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253006"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253006"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253006\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}