Movie Review | ‘Borderlands (2024)’ – A mission failed

Borderlands is a beloved franchise with a violent, colourful world that puts players into the mix as they dive into the chaos, dishing out incredible mayhem.The games are funny, and epic, so it only makes sense that they be the subject of the latest film adaptation of a video game. With a cast of heavy hitters like Cate Blanchett and Kevin Hart, it should have been one of the good ones.

Unfortunately, much like the characters in the film, Borderlands is no better than the worst of the worst. Once again a fan base must suffer the ruin of the world they hold dear, as this film joins the ever expanding club of bad video game adaptations.

The sad part is that what works about the film is its devotion to the source material. The art direction is a true labour of love, with set and character designs practically lifted from a game console onto the silver screen. The alien world of Pandora remains a discordant mix of murky wasteland and vibrant decor, like Mad Max’s world saturated with splashes of neon paint.

The film looks good in the background, but up close, it’s a mess. The obvious green screen use kills any sense of illusion, and several scenes feature CGI that looks more unpolished than a 2005 video game. If that’s not enough of a turn-off, Borderlands is exceedingly dull, with pacing so inconsistent that its big action set pieces feel like a whimper rather than a triumph.

The film wants badly to capture the found family charisma of the Guardians of the Galaxy films but the pieces just aren’t there. Performance-wise, Kevin Hart opts for a reserved approach, making his character as interesting as the cardboard panel Cate Blanchett seems to be reading her lines off of.

The tone is perfect for a Borderlands film, but the writing is so unfunny and the plot development hints towards a twist you can see coming from the opening line of the film’s grating narration. Any goodwill earned by the superb art direction is squandered by a truly horrendous third act. Borderlands had all the elements that ought to have delivered a film worthy of the game it’s based on, but instead brings the audience what feels like a cheap commercial that’s too long.

Rating: Catch It On Cable

Damian Levy is a film critic and podcaster for Damian Michael Movies.