BORDERLANDS Reviewed by GREG KING
Director: Eli Roth
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis, Edgar Ramirez, Ariana Greenblatt, Jack Black, Florian Munteau, Gina Gershon, Hayley Bennett, Janina Gavankar.
Cinematic adaptations of video games have, for the most part, disappointed both gamers and movie goers and the cinematic landscape is littered with failed adaptations. Based on the titular game franchise that has sold millions of copies, Borderlands follows the same inglorious footsteps of many that have come before it. Some of these failings can be attributed to studio interference and extensive rewrites and reshoots.
Borderlands follows a tough and resourceful bounty hunter who gets caught up in an intergalactic treasure hunt in this energetic, chaotic and visually flashy action adventure based on a popular first-person shooter videogame series originally released by Gearbox Software in 2009.
The film’s action is set on the distant world of Pandora, but this “shit hole” of a planet is a far cry from the world given to us by James Cameron in Avatar. Here Pandora is more of a dystopian wasteland, a rusty junkyard full of deserted mines, caves and abandoned rusting machinery, populated by grifters and marauding treasure hunters looking for a mythical vault that supposedly contains technology from the Eridians, an advanced alien race that once ruled the galaxy.
Lilith (Cate Blanchett) is initially hired by Atlas (Edgar Ramirez, from spy thriller The 355, etc), the powerful and megarich CEO of the Atlas Corporation, a tech company, to find his daughter “Tiny” Tina (Ariana Greenblatt, from the Disney comedy series Stuck In The Middle, etc) who has been kidnapped by rogue forces. Tina supposedly holds the key to unlocking this vault and its secret technology.
But when she discovers the real reasons behind Atlas’ search for his daughter Lilith reluctantly joins forces with a ragtag team including former soldier turned mercenary Roland (Kevin Hart); scientist Patricia Tannis (Jamie Lee Curtis, from the Halloween series, etc), her foster-mother; a mutant strong man Krieg (Florian Munteau, from Creed II, etc) from a fanatical masked tribe known as “the Psychos”; and Claptrap, an aggressively annoying and over eager droid (voiced by Jack Black).
Borderlands has been directed by Eli Roth who is better known for his gory horror films (Hostel, etc). The pulpy comic book feel of the material is accentuated by the flashy visuals and grungy setting that mirror the aesthetics of the source. This generic, derivative and barely comprehensible film has been written by Roth and Joe Crombie (and Craig Mazin, who had his name removed from the final credits), and it references a number of superior sci-fi and action films, including Blade Runner, Star Wars, Mad Max, Guardians Of The Galaxy, et al. The central plot revolves around the search for the three keys that will unlock the vault and reveal its secrets.
Roth makes a good fist at handling the special effects driven action and maintains a fast pace throughout. There is plenty of action and cartoon-like violence, but somewhat surprisingly for Roth, very little blood or gory stuff. The visuals have been well shot by Dutch cinematographer Rogier Stoffers (Disturbia, etc). The CGI effects and the production design from Andrew Menzies (Monster Trucks, etc) are quite spectacular and capture both the seedy nature of Pandora and its wastelands, but also the gaudy splendour of the marketplaces.
Most of the characters here are terribly cliched and one dimensional, albeit played by a solid ensemble cast who seem disconnected from the material. There is also a lack of chemistry between the main characters. Obviously chasing a big pay cheque, Blanchett is cast against type here in the role of the gun toting kick-arse action heroine, but she manages to bring her character to life, injecting touches of spunky attitude to soften her cliched dialogue. She throws herself in the physicality of the role with gusto. Her striking red hair also helps define the character. Hart is also largely cast against type and gets a chance to play an indestructible action hero here. Greenblatt brings a precocious quality to her performance as the eccentric and unpredictable Tina. Black’s snarky quips and comedic stylings provide most of the film’s highlights.
Budgeted at somewhere around $100 million, Borderlands is an expensive mess, and it rates a measly 7% on review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes.
★★☆
