But the question needs to be asked: Is it really that bad? Or is this the classic case of the first few people hating it and now everybody piling onto it because it could seem weird to admit that it might be a good film.
Well, the answer probably sits somewhere in between, to be honest. Borderlands isn’t exactly a bad film – it’s not like while watching the film you are thinking about wanting to escape the cinema or anything like that. The problem is that it is just a bland film. There are very few things in the film that we haven’t seen before, but at the same time there are enough quirky things about the film that could see it become a cult classic like Tank Girl.
Based on the popular video game series, the film begins on the planet of Pandora when a soldier called Roland (Kevin Hart – Ride Along) appears to go rogue and kidnaps Tiny Tina (Ariana Greenblatt – Barbie), who happens to be the daughter of Atlas (Edgar Ramirez – Point Break), a rich mining magnate.
He then hires a bounty hunter called Lilith (Cate Blanchett – Carol) to bring her back. But after teaming up with a cheeky robot, Claptrap (voiced by Jack Black – School of Rock), she soon discovers that Tiny Tina doesn’t want to return back to Atlas and the reason he wants her back comes from complete greed.
She instead decides to team up with Roland, Tiny Tina and the supposed ‘psycho’ Krieg (Florian Munteanu – Creed II) to help protect Tiny Tina and try to find a hidden treasure that might change life for everybody in the universe.
You will find yourself asking a lot of questions as you watch Borderlands. The one that instantly comes to mind and stays with you throughout the film is why did Cate Blanchett decide to accept a role in the film. Yes, she is good in the film and she seems to enjoy playing up to the quirkiness of the film, but you do have to wonder what an Oscar-winning actress would see in a screenplay that is so derivative of other films in the genre.
That is the biggest problem with Borderlands. As you watch the film you can literally pick what film or series various scenes have been ‘borrowed’ from. At first it just seems coincidental but by the time Claptrap lays down so a projection can play for Lilith it suddenly hits you “yep that is from Star Wars” and then you can’t unsee the other ‘borrowed’ moments throughout the film.
From there you start noticing other issues with the film as well. The twist that fans of sci-fi will see coming a mile away, the continuity issues (like characters seemingly disappearing into thin air) that are so obvious you can’t help but wonder how they were missed in the editing suite and then a kind of bland finale battle scene that is reminiscent of the boring endings that Marvel have been delivering recently.
The one thing that saves this film is the quirkiness. The planets and the worlds created here are interesting and seem to mirror the game in an almost comic-book style. All of the acting performances play up to that quirkiness but it does feel that the film forgets about that style just at the moment it really needs it – in its finale.
As I mentioned, Cate Blanchett does a good job here and it is actually refreshing to see Kevin Hart get a chance to play a more serious role… he is seriously unrecognisable as he morphs into his character at times.
Florian Munteanu also shines as Krieg and while Ariana Greenblatt does a good job as Tiny Tina she falls badly into this movie’s ‘borrowed’ void as it feels like she is channelling Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn a little too much. Having said that though she is still one of the best parts of the film and her character one of the most interesting.
Borderlands may not be the trainwreck that many are calling it but it is one of those films that you watch and think, “This could have been so much better.” Qudos to Eli Roth for trying to make something different but it is a shame that he felt like he couldn’t have let his creativity shine with a film that could have been something special.
Borderlands is currently screening in Phuket and is rated ‘15’
2/5 Stars
David Griffiths has been working as a film journalist for over 25 years. That time has seen him work in radio, television and in print. He currently hosts a film podcast called The Popcorn Conspiracy. He is also a Rotten Tomatoes accredited reviewer and is an alternate judge for the Golden Globes Awards. You can follow him at Facebook: SubcultureEntertainmentAus