Borderlands movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Borderlands

This sci-fi video-game adaptation is now playing in theaters.

RATING: PG-13 (Originally, the movie was going to be rated R to match the content in the M-rating of the original video game)

LENGTH: 1 hour 40 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: C

SPONSOR of Today’s movie review:

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If you haven’t played the Borderlands video game and are now interested, you can find it on all gaming platforms: https://amzn.to/3M1MpG2

IN A NUTSHELL:

This adventure-action movie is based on the best-selling videogame of the same name. The crazy cast of characters goes on a mission to save a missing girl who holds the key to unimaginable power.

The movie feels like a mixture of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Star Wars.

The colorful film was directed by Eli Roth who also co-wrote it with Joe Abercrombie. Already, the film has been nominated for and won several awards at various film festivals.

For what it’s worth, I’ve never played the video game, so I’m basing the movie’s value on face value. So many video games have attempted to translate their popularity into a feature film yet have not faired well. The Borderlands video game is one of the best-selling video game franchises in history. If you’re a fan of the video game, comment down below! I’d love to hear what you thought of the flick!

THINGS I LIKED:

The cast is absolutely fantastic and includes Academy Award winners Cate Blanchett and Jamie Lee Curtis. Arianna Greenblatt is adorable and hilarious in everything I’ve ever seen her in . She was so cute in Love and Monsters. Other cast members include Kevin Hart, Edgar Ramirez, Ariana Greenblatt, Olivier Richters, Haley Bennett, and the voice talents of Jack Black.
Fun fact: Eli Roth had shot the first version of the movie back in 2021, but it was decided to market it as a PG-13 blockbuster, so Tim Miller took over the project. Based on the drastic changes to the tone of the film, Steve Jablonsky had to completely rewrite the musical score from what Nathan Barr had created.
Lots and lots of action! Unfortunately, the sequences aren’t entirely memorable.
The visual and spoken humor is quirky and irreverent. Most of the spoken humor comes from Jack Black’s robotic character.
There’s a twist in Act 3 I didn’t see coming.
Some of the CGI looked like it belonged in a video game.
Plenty of interesting creatures to be entertained by.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

I’ve heard from some of the fans of the video game that they have been super disappointed with this movie.
None of the characters are very relatable. I had a hard time getting invested after only 15 minutes and was mostly bored throughout.
It kind of feels like they just wrote a list of required elements and then checked off the boxes without really getting creative or even following the charm of the video game.
You can feel the reshoots in the movie. There is something disjointed about the whole movie.
Most of the humor doesn’t land.
There are backstories but they’re easily dismissed and not shared with the audience.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Profanity and crude language
Lots of violence (bloodless)
Firearms, knives, bombs, and other weapons are used
Tons of destruction

THEMES:

Persistence
Being special
Power
Control
Teamwork
Friendship

FUNNY LINES:

“Would you look at that: a ladder! Unfortunately, my design doesn’t facilitate this type of vertical movement.” – Claptrap (Jack Black)
“Feel free to applaud.” – Roland (Kevin Hart)

INTERESTING LINES:

“There’s no salvation without sacrifice.” Tannis (Jamie Lee Curtis)
“Memories are more creative than anything Atlas can create.” – Lilith (Cate Blanchett)