102 min | PG-13 | August 9, 2024 | Lionsgate
Cate Blanchett, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jack Black, and Kevin Hart star in a video game adaptation that wastes every single one of them. Eli Roth directs. Nobody survives.
Lilith is a bounty hunter hired to find the kidnapped daughter of a powerful man on a planet called Pandora. She assembles a team of misfits. They fight bad guys. There is a vault with a treasure. The film is based on the Borderlands video game series, which is known for irreverent humor, chaotic violence, and a distinctive visual style. The film captures none of these qualities. It is a generic sci-fi action movie wearing the skin of a franchise it does not understand.
Cate Blanchett plays Lilith with what appears to be contractual obligation. She is one of the finest actresses alive and this film asks her to deliver one-liners while holding a gun. Jamie Lee Curtis plays Tannis in a role that wastes her completely. Kevin Hart plays Roland with the same Kevin Hart energy he brings to everything. Jack Black voices Claptrap with the same Jack Black energy he brings to everything. Ariana Greenblatt plays Tiny Tina with more commitment than the adults around her. The cast is a murderer’s row of talent and the film murders them all.
Eli Roth directed Hostel and Cabin Fever with violent energy. This film has a PG-13 rating that neuters the franchise’s signature ultraviolence. The action sequences are muddled and dark. The production design looks expensive and generic. The humor lands with the frequency and impact of a coin dropped in a well. The script by Roth and Joe Crombie gives no character a reason to exist beyond plot function. The film was reportedly reshot and re-edited extensively. It looks like it.
Video game adaptations have improved dramatically in recent years. The Super Mario Bros. Movie proved you could honor the source material and make a functional film. Borderlands proves you can spend a fortune and honor nothing. The games are anarchic and colorful and specific. The film is dull and dark and interchangeable with every other failed franchise launch. Three percent on Rotten Tomatoes is not an accident. It is a verdict.