Borderland2024.
Directed by: Eli Roth.
Starring Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Jamie Lee Curtis, Edgar Ramírez, Ariana Greenblatt, Florian Munteanu, Gina Gershon, Haley Bennett, Janina Gavankar, Cheyenne Jackson, Charles Babalola, Benjamin Byron Davis, Steven Boyer, Ryann Redmond, Bobby Lee , Olivier Richters, Justin Price and Paula Andrea Placido.
SUMMARY:
Based on the bestselling video game, this all-star action adventure follows a ragtag team of misfits on a mission to rescue a missing girl who holds the key to unimaginable power.
An adaptation of the popular cooperative multiplayer open-world video game series, Borderland doesn’t play to either co-writer/director Eli Roth’s strengths in exploration or his strengths as a shock filmmaker. The ultra-violent horror guru seems like an inspired choice on paper, considering these are mature-rated games that also derive energy and tension from gore and juvenile humor (usually involving pop culture references or the clever deconstruction of video game cliches), but it bafflingly received a PG-13 rating. To be fair, one can also imagine that this would have turned out just as lifeless and generic even if Eli Roth and co-writer Joe Crombie had been given the green light to do whatever they wanted, because they basically don’t seem to understand what anyone likes about these games and package it in a cinematic interpretation devoid of any personality.
At the same time, these shortcomings do not necessarily have to be attributed to the filmmakers. Borderland isn’t exactly the kind of video game with a strong narrative or popular heroes that cry out for an adaptation. However, given the game’s visual color and humorous dialogue, there’s reason to believe this could work if it inspires laughs and provides fun variations on the playable characters and sidekicks, potentially fleshing them out in the process. Here, the attempts at comedic are forced to the point of cringe, while the story is a generic tale about a young girl who is believed to have special abilities that can open a hidden safe that many have been searching for.
Everything here is so lifeless that it’s hard to say anything, so here’s an anecdote from my premiere (this film was not screened for press in Chicago). 15 minutes into the film, a man comes in and sits down, most likely sneaking in after watching something else. He left after five minutes, probably because the snarky humor is useless, the plot is simple, the action is boring, and the visual effects are dull and complemented by costumes that look more like high-end cosplay.
Cate Blanchett plays the red-headed Lilith, a bounty hunter hired by Atlas (Edgar Ramirez) to rescue his daughter Tiny Tina (a fan favorite played by Ariana Greenblatt) from one of his soldiers, Roland (a completely miscast Kevin Hart), who knows she is expendable to her father and is locked away, only to one day open the vault when it is discovered. Meanwhile, one of the Mad Max-inspired masked psychos (Florian Munteanu) serves as Tiny Tina’s brutal bodyguard. Before that, three keys must be collected; this is based on a video game, after all. Not surprisingly, everyone comes together and finds themselves on the same side as they fight Atlas in search of those keys.
There would be plenty of time in the game to go out and meet several wacky supporting characters who would offer side missions and give the consumer a taste of this world overrun by greedy corporations (a thematic thread that the film has nothing to do with). Or maybe it would be the right time to delve into the unique shooter mechanics that emphasize exploration and killing to be rewarded with special weapons with different damage levels and special properties (even in the first game there were thousands of possibilities for these sometimes randomly generated firearms).
Instead, Borderland rushing through this generic story (which mixes together multiple aspects and characters from all three games until it feels like a cluttered mess, similar to far too many other video game adaptations) like a player who only cares about speeding their way through the plot-centric quests, that is not the right way to play Borderlandand that’s certainly not the right way to adjust it.
Several other characters join the adventure, from the comical robot sidekick Claptrap (voiced by Jack Black for some reason, although it doesn’t sound like him at all and Lionsgate didn’t bother marketing the film, so it wouldn’t have made a difference to just give the role back to voice actor David Eddings) to Jamie Lee Curtis’ scientifically inclined Tannis (who does almost nothing in the film except give expositions, although she’s running along, making you feel like the fourth person in the group, offering no real help and just reaping successes from everyone else’s hard work.)
No matter who they are, everyone feels somewhat beholden to their video game counterparts when it comes to scripting. The bigger problem is that the filmmakers never figure out who these characters are or why anyone should care about them. Technically, you could say that the film looks like Borderlandbut even that statement isn’t entirely true, as the adaptation is bereft of aesthetically pleasing cel-shaded animation, the song choices for the action sequences are seemingly random, and encounters with giant monstrosities last about as long as they do in the trailer.
Everything here seems desperate to convince the audience that everyone involved understands Borderlandwhich couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s hard to call the film terrible, as the actors try hard and the plot is competent on a certain level, but it’s boring and has no personality whatsoever.
Assessment of the flickering myth – Film: ★ ★ / Cinema: ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the reviews editor at Flickering Myth. Find new reviews here, follow my Þjórsárdalur or Letterboxd, or email me at [email protected]
