Banner image: Courtesy of Lionsgate
I was intrigued when it was announced that Eli Roth would be adapting the Borderlands video game series. The project marked a departure from the horror director’s usual oeuvre, and I hoped he would bring a bit of bite to what could easily be an unremarkable space adventure flick. And, as talents like Cate Blanchett and rising star Ariana Greenblatt came on board, things seemed promising.
However, after a tumultuous production process (principle photography wrapped all the way back in 2021), the Lionsgate offering has finally hit screens, and the results are far from impressive.
It stars Blanchett as Lillith, a Han Solo-esque, out-for-herself bounty hunter. She begrudgingly allies with a group of misfits to protect Tina (Greenblatt), a slightly unhinged amateur demolitionist with a mysterious destiny, from her despotic businessman father (Edgar Ramirez). According to an ancient (and convenient) prophecy, Tina may hold the key to ‘the Vault’, a legendary cache of untold loot left somewhere on the desolate planet of Pandora by an ancient alien race.
We follow the crew as they battle their way through the wasteland on their way to the Vault, coming up against psychopathic scavengers and tentacled monsters inexplicably saunaing in pools of their own urine.
Tonally, it’s all over the place; a perplexing hodgepodge of genre and style that can’t decide what it wants to be – whether that’s a postapocalyptic western or a full-on fantasy. And, teetering on the edge of a PG-13 rating, it never quite finds its groove between family-friendly adventure and edgy space romp for older audiences.
Inevitably, Borderlands will be compared to Zack Snyder’s recent Rebel Moon films (and not just because they share a clunky voice-over introduction). But while those productions were equally uninspired, at least they maintained a relatively consistent vibe throughout.
Courtesy of Lionsgate
It quickly becomes clear that Borderlands is just going through the motions. The key players only interact with one another to divulge exposition and trade worn-out one-liners. Without any meaningful exchanges, it’s impossible to recognise a genuine connection between any two of the characters, let alone all six of the principal cast.
Instead of spending time establishing rapport and developing relationships between their main players, the filmmakers unabashedly rely on stock characters (the reluctant protector, the snarky robot sidekick, the silent but fearsome bruiser) to provide the group with a ready-made dynamic. Predictably, this tactic fails to imbue the ragtag team with any real sense of camaraderie, meaning that when the film’s big emotional moments come along, they’re entirely unaffecting.
To illustrate, there’s a scene halfway through when a character seemingly sacrifices themselves so the rest of the gang can escape an overwhelming threat. As they do so, one of their new-found friends makes a heartfelt plea for them to reconsider. It’s meant to be a hard-hitting moment (à la Spock at the end of The Wrath of Khan), but I couldn’t think of any real reason to care.
Courtesy of Lionsgate
As for the cast, Blanchett is cool and charismatic, despite her fugitive hunter heroine being entirely unoriginal. Jamie Lee-Curtis does as much as she can to make her oddball scientist interesting, but can’t quite out-manoeuvre the trite script. And Jack Black is entertaining enough as the droid Claptrap, enthusiastically delivering insults and darkly comic quips about robot enslavement.
However, it’s Kevin Hart as the self-serious soldier, Roland, who stands out most – if only for how incredibly bland his performance is. For this project, Hart ditches his usual comic relief duties for some good old-fashioned straight-man-action-heroing. But the banal role offers the Central Intelligence star little opportunity to do anything of note. It makes you wonder why the studio bothered paying his (assumingly) exorbitant fee only to strip him of his famous showmanship and charm.
On top of that, the plot is a bordering-on-nonsensical mish-mash of events ripped off countless other sci-fi and post-apocalyptic franchises. The most egregious of them all comes at the end, once the tyrannical regime is toppled and peace is restored, when the heroes and citizens celebrate their victory with a street-parade-style party complete with fireworks. If this doesn’t sound familiar, just rewatch the last few minutes of Return of the Jedi. When Star Wars does it, it’s charming in a gooey, sentimental way, but here it’s just very uncool.
Borderlands is in cinemas on the 8th of August 2024.
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