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James Mottram

2/5 stars
After sophisticated video game adaptations like HBO’s The Last of Us, we go back to basics with Borderlands.
Based on the console series from Gearbox Software, Eli Roth’s ensemble is a messy sci-fi shoot-’em-up that is unlikely to thrill either devotees of the game or newbies to this fantasy world that rips off Mad Max, Avatar and Star Wars.
Australian actress Cate Blanchett, reuniting with Roth after 2018’s children’s fantasy The House with a Clock in Its Walls, plays Lilith, a hard-bitten bounty hunter with mommy issues.


In the midst of her latest job, she receives an offer she can’t refuse from the mysterious Atlas (Édgar Ramírez). He wants her to find his missing daughter Tina (Ariana Greenblatt), who has been kidnapped by one of his own soldiers, Roland (Kevin Hart).
His urgency to retrieve Tina is not out of fatherly concern, but from the belief she is the daughter of Eridian, meaning she has special powers to open something known as The Vault.
Before that, there are three keys to collect when Lilith arrives on the hellscape that is Pandora, “the worst planet in the galaxy” as Atlas puts it.

Coming along for the ride is Claptrap (voiced by Jack Black), a robot character that has been dormant for years but is programmed to help Lilith on her return to this world she once knew.
With his squeaky voice and endless stream of consciousness, he will surely go down in the annals of most annoying movie characters ever.
There’s also a thankless role for Jamie Lee Curtis, as a woman with connections to Lilith’s backstory, but at least Roth gets a handle on capturing the vibe of the game.
The rocky outcrop that is Pandora, a planet-wide scrapheap painted in mustard yellows and sickly greens, is neatly put together by the art department and the VFX team.

It’s also pleasing to see Blanchett, sporting a bright red crop of hair, in a rare blockbuster outing.
An actress who can pretty much do anything, she evens bring a two-dimensional video game heroine to life. And there is something quite pleasing about watching her brandishing a flame-thrower and burning through foes.
It is a shame, then, that the plot peters out, straining for any kind of emotion (and failing) in the final third. The whole treasure hunt for The Vault really is nothing short of a quest for fool’s gold, while a narrative twist in the tale barely raises an eyebrow.
By the end, it really is game over.
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Borderlands movie review: not even Cate Blanchett can save this video game adaptation

Cate Blanchett (left) as Lilith and Ariana Greenblatt as Tiny Tina in a still from Borderlands. Photo: Lionsgate

Cate Blanchett as Lilith in a still from Borderlands (category IIA), directed by Eli Roth. Kevin Hart and Edgar Ramírez co-star. Photo: Katalin Vermes/Lionsgate

Kevin Hart as Roland in a still from Borderlands. Photo: Murray Close/Lionsgate

(From left) Kevin Hart as Roland, Jamie Lee Curtis as Tannis, Ariana Greenblatt as Tiny Tina, Florian Munteanu as Krieg, and Cate Blanchett as Lilith in a still from Borderlands. Photo: Lionsgate

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Ryan Reynolds (left) as Deadpool/Wade Wilson and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine/Logan in a still from Deadpool & Wolverine. Photo: Jay Maidment/20th Century Studios and Marvel

Hugh Jackman (left) as Wolverine/Logan and Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool/Wade Wilson in a still from Deadpool & Wolverine (category: III), directed by Shawn Levy. Photo: Jay Maidment/20th Century Studios and Marvel

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This video game adaptation fails to push the right buttons, despite Cate Blanchett’s best efforts, although it does capture the game’s feel


Cate Blanchett shines in this video game adaptation, but the sci-fi shoot-’em-up is let down by a faltering plot, some annoying characters and a lack of emotion.


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An assessment or critique of a service, product or creative endeavour.  Film reviews, restaurant reviews, reviews of art exhibitions. (Eg. Crazy Rich Asians: an important film, yes, but a good one?)


Review

Review | Borderlands movie review: not even Cate Blanchett can save this video game adaptation

This video game adaptation fails to push the right buttons, despite Cate Blanchett’s best efforts, although it does capture the game’s feel