SPOILER FREE REVIEW
Cate Blanchett has recently spoken against the “complete lack of shame” in modern society; something I might find particularly ironic when discussing the actor’s participation in ‘Borderlands’. Being one of the finest actors of their generation, Blanchett has made a career in playing through diverse and complicated roles; the drama and intrigue captivating audiences in the process.
But I wonder, beyond possibly financial incentive, what reason/s Blanchett had for accepting the role of ‘Lilith’. Whilst several video game adaptations have recently made their way onto the big screen, ‘Borderlands’ has the distinction of being one of the worst received at the box office. In the 90s, with such video game crossovers as ‘Street Fighter’ and ‘Super Mario Bros’ this wasn’t particularly surprising – but more recent adaptations have proved successful, such as the ‘Fallout’ and ‘Last of Us’ series respectively.
Gaming, in of itself, has become far more popular and complex than it once was – there are more casual gamers, older games, and consoles sold than ever before; so, it would make sense that adapting the more successful licenses from one medium to another is a good bet. The ‘Borderlands’ series first arrived in 2009, and there are currently nine games within the franchise, some just tangentially connected with the original plots.
It will therefore not surprise you to hear that you don’t really need to know anything about Borderlands to enjoy this film, though – like any adaptations – it should prove beneficial. Lilith (Blanchett) is a bounty hunter, hired to recover the kidnapped daughter of the Atlas Corp CEO (Edgar Ramírez). To do this, Lilith needs to travel to Pandora, both the sleaziest and most deprived planet in the known universe, and her place of origin. Convivence!
As soon as she arrives, Lilith quickly meets Claptrap (voiced by Jack Black) who remains a consistent fan favourite robot character (and merchandise shifter) and offers help and advice and moves the plot forward significantly at a one point. Claptrap serves as the comic relief, his scenes could’ve been voiced by anyone, and I felt it was a waste of Jack Black’s time and talent.
Unfortunately, due to a public falling out, the original – and best – Claptrap voice artist David Eddings was probably (most definitely) not approached to reprise the role. At one point, Black’s Claptrap makes a joke about premature ejaculation (though, bearing in mind this strictly a family movie) and you see why his inclusion was misused.
Speaking of family friendly, this is the biggest criticism I have with Borderlands 2024 overall, as the franchise is certainly not ‘family friendly’ and doesn’t present itself as anything different. A lot of the games in the series are rated 18 and it’s obvious that the creators of this film went to great lengths to water down the content and hit the ‘summer blockbuster’ market. Another clue is the complete absence, and zero mention, of Handsome Jack – a Borderlands character not unlike Batman’s Joker who would’ve provided a definite adult edge and sobering tone.
On the other hand, I will give them props for casting Benjamin Byron Davis in the role of Marcus, both due to his own voicework for this character in game and also because Davis voiced the character of Dutch in Red Dead Redemption 2. Where’s that movie!?
Overall, Borderlands doesn’t have a bad story, in fact it’s easily watchable from beginning, middle to end – if not slightly predictable in some parts – but it’s just ‘meh’. Kevin Hart is another example, playing the role of Roland. He’s OK, but it could’ve been anyone else. Blanchett herself is 55 and she’s not expected to be playing a Jean Clade Van Damme character (if JCVD was in his prime) but you do feel that both herself and Jamie Lee Curtis (as Tannis) are only present for financial motivations. The budget for the film is believed to be as high as $120 million; with even a cameo from Penn Jillette (who also appeared as a version of himself in Borderlands 3) filmed but not released.
I would be highly doubtful that the same film presented at cinemas will be the one we get on any potential Blu Ray package – it’s likely a more ‘adult’ cut of the film exists – given the copious reshoots that happened in 2023, and I’d encourage the production to make this film available. But even with extra blood, guts and gore it is still unlikely to change the fact they’ve created a piece of fiction that we’d probably have left unwritten.