Lilith (Blanchett), an infamous bounty hunter with a mysterious past, reluctantly returns to her home, Pandora, the most chaotic planet in the galaxy. Her mission is to find the missing daughter of Atlas (Ramírez), the universe’s most powerful S.O.B. Lilith forms an unexpected alliance with a ragtag team of misfits – Roland (Hart), a seasoned mercenary on a mission; Tiny Tina (Greenblatt), a feral pre-teen demolitionist; Krieg (Munteanu), Tina’s musclebound protector; Dr. Tannis (Curtis), the oddball scientist who’s seen it all; and Claptrap (Black), a wiseass robot. Together, these unlikely heroes must battle an alien species and dangerous bandits to uncover one of Pandora’s most explosive secrets.
- Based on the video game Borderlands created by GearBox Studios and published by 2K.
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So there’s this flashy new movie on streaming called Borderlands. Apparently it’s based on a video game I’ve never played, and stars Cate Blanchett with red hair, Kevin Hart and Jamie Lee Curtis. For some reason, I hadn’t heard anything about this at all – which usually isn’t a good sign. Still, it looked like fun sci fi, so I figured I’d check it out. Would it be worth it?
Cate Blanchett is usually known for going all in for her movies – usually evidenced by the gravitas she gives to her characters. In Borderlands, she plays a devil-may-care bounty hunter that would just as soon shoot someone as talk to them. It’s definitely different from what viewers are used to seeing with her, and she seems to be having a good time letting loose.
The rest of the cast isn’t bad either. Kevin Hart also switches up by not being the comic relief of Borderlands, instead trying to play a more intense soldier with his humor muted. It works…okay. Jamie Lee Curtis, on the other hand, just kind of blends in, doing nothing good or bad to make her stand out, while Jack Black – who is the comic relief as Claptrap the robot – seems to have lost a step with his joke-telling skills, as they all just fall flat.
And that’s one of the problems with Borderlands. The acting isn’t bad (especially Cate), but the film tries to overload viewers with humor – and doesn’t. The jokes are thrown out as fast as possible, hoping they will stick with the audience. They don’t. Instead, the viewer feels like they are drowning in a sea of crappy humor, and just wants the dang robot to shut up – not exactly the vibe the filmmakers were going for.
Then there’s the storyline behind Borderlands. At first, it seems like it’s going to be an entertaining story about a fantastical planet and a bounty hunter. Then, the planet’s name is revealed as Pandora, unfortunately, and viewers will immediately start thinking about Avatar. Then, the story gets more complicated, with something about a vault and “keys” (which look like cones). The whole thing just feels derivative, and it’s told with voice-over and exposition, which just makes the viewer yawn.
The special effects seem to be trying to outdo themselves in Borderlands. Big scary monsters, an alien planet, loud color choices, laser guns and other effects all vie for the viewer’s attention. They are all done well, but taken as a whole, they create a sense of confusion. They just don’t mesh together, and, with the color palette, feel more like something a unicorn might puke up, rather than something that will wow viewers. Too much of something can become a muddled mess, as this movie proves.
On paper, Borderlands probably looked like a hit. A decent cast, lots of humor, and a sci-fi epic that invokes Avatar – what could go wrong? Unfortunately, aside from Cate having fun, the rest of the cast is okay (Hart, Curtis, Greenblatt) or a complete miss (looking at you, Jack Black). The storyline just seems derivative and dull, and there’s just too much emphasis on poppy color that totally isn’t needed. What does all that mean? Well, if you want to check out a good video game adaptation, check out The Super Mario Bros. Movie instead (sorry Cate).
