Based on a video game series of the same name, Borderlands is directed by renowned horror movie director Eli Roth, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Joe Crombie. Cate Blanchett stars as Lilith, an infamous outlaw with a mysterious past, who reluctantly returns to her home planet of Pandora to find the missing daughter of the evil Atlas (Edgar Ramirez).
I have zero interest in video games so do not watch that many movie versions of them. There are some good ones though, such as the original Resident Evil and I really enjoyed Uncharted last year. That worked because it stood up as an action adventure movie that could be enjoyed by people who had not played the game. Borderlands, on the other hand, feels like it is desperate to please its core fans. We are inundated with a bewildering array of characters and a lot of rushed exposition in the early stages.
After that, the film moves from set piece to set piece that had almost no jeopardy. The effects were frequently ropey and I was extremely bored throughout. The only saving grace was the cast that is way too talented for the material. As well as the great Blanchett, it includes Jamie Lee Curtis and Ariana Greenblatt, who continued to impress after good work in both 65 and Barbie recently.
I cannot speak for players of the game, but I cannot see general movie watchers getting much enjoyment out of this messy affair.
Rating: 3 out of 10