I loved the Borderlands video game franchise. I had anticipated that the writer and director would bring in some galore of expertise. That filmmaker is Eli Roth. When Borderlands had a PG-13 film rating, my gut started to warn me there might be floppyness. The mediocrity holds. Borderlands is a tragedy. Mind of Roth does not have the creativity for in-depth tragedies or stellar violence. There is a limited amount of that in Borderlands. That leaves the writing on the wall of this dreadful adaptation from the video game franchise. It is an adaptation where the writing and pacing do not correlate for forms of invigoration. It is one of those flicks where tolerance will be necessary.
The film gears on Lilith (played by Cate Blanchett). Lilith is a bounty hunter. Lilith has a dreadful past. She finds her way back to her home planet Pandora. For those who have played video games, it is clear how the planet Pandora would be. Lilith is on a mission to find the daughter of Atlas. Atlas is the hierarchy as an S.O.B. Lilith finds this task complex without assistance. Lilith assembles of a team. They are all cocky. Her team consists of Roland (a mercenary played by Kevin Hart), Tiny Tina (an adolescent demolitionist played by Ariana Greenblatt), Krieg (Tina’s sidekick and played by Florian Munteanu), Tannis (a quirky scientist played by Jamie Lee Curtis), and Claptrap (an egotistical robot and played by Jack Black). All these characters are fit for their bonker roles, but that cannot save the audience from the dreadfulness of the outline itself.
It is an adaptation that fails to see concepts all the way through. It tries to be in its direction for humor and escapism (from the mind of Roth), and it is muddy. With an adaptation like this one, I thought it would seem more interactive. I expected there to be more open-world roaming moments (to feel like the video game itself). This one tries to stay in its lane and care about the mishaps of humor with Hart, Black, and the rest of the poor film in and of itself. There is no seriousness to the hero vibes of Borderlands. There is only frustration.
Pacing is a trainwreck in Borderlands. There is a saying that goes, “She seems deranged.” Instead, it should be “This dynamic is deranged.” Borderlands is a band of misfits that keep making the boredom feel worse. Its setting is a low-grade Mad Max environment meeting a massive roadblock of inconsistency. Borderlands does not know its elements for an enthralling adaptation.
The obliviousness of characterizations works for the atmosphere of Borderlands. The characters are the added fixation to the plot. They deserve much better. Borderlands is not action-packed, and it is not exhilarating. Borderlands only relies on humor (which keeps it dry). The opening makes its audience think of the video game franchise. The rest of the film goes in its wrecking way. It continues to be full of cliches. Regardless, there is no justice of achievement in Borderlands. One out of four stars.
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