Movie Review: Borderlands (2024) *No Spoilers*

Movie Review: Borderlands (2024) No Spoilers

The trailer for Borderlands is an example of a movie trying hard to convince you it's better than what it actually is.

Initially I had wanted to see this movie in theatres just because it had Cate Blanchett and Jamie Lee Curtis in a movie that looked pretty bonkers. I mean it's two veteran, Oscar winning actors, it should be amazing.

I'm not familiar at all with the computer games Borderlands is based upon so a really fun looking trailer and the top tier cast was all I had to go on.

Unfortunately the reviews started coming in and it wasn't just games fans that were disappointed with the film. Critics thought it was bad too.

Ordinarily this wouldn't stop me from going to see a movie but, since my local cinema closed down, I have to travel further to see a film on the big screen. I've become very selective about what I'll go see.

Someone uploaded the entire movie to YouTube. I just happened to see it (YouTube suggested it to me) so I took the opportunity to see it on my own 'big' screen digital projector at home.

On paper Borderlands shouldn't be a bad movie. It's a group of misfits in space going to get a thing before the bad guys pursuing them get the thing to do evil things with.

At this point that's a pretty tried and tested formula, done many times before to great effect. It's a storyline that never really gets old either if done well. The problem is, it's not done well here.

It's not even any of the actors fault. They're all trying their best with what they were given.

In my opinion the key problems are the script, and a lack of creativity in the choice of camera shots.

Script-wise it never deviates from the main structure. They're going to get the thing right from the beginning with bad guys in hot pursuit. That's the trouble. Almost no time is spent getting to really know any of the characters, and when we do it's so obviously exposition to tell us something that may be important later.

Forty five minutes into the film I still didn't really know enough about anyone to care and they were well on their way to finding the thing.

Sometimes a weak script is fine if the action and cinematography is really, really good. Here there is no action that really stands out. Either there's too much going on during a fights to keep track of, or nothing is filmed with the intention to be a memorable set piece.

I will concede that Tiny Tina's (Ariana Greenblatt) use of bombs in a fight was a spark of something different that stood out.

This isn't director, Eli Roth's first movie, though maybe he hasn't really done this style of bigger budget action before - I'm not that familiar with his films to be honest. Though I would expect him to do better than this.

Borderlands isn't a terrible film but it isn't great either. It may become more appreciated over time as it is watchable, moves at a reasonable pace, and never really slows down too much. It just doesn't stand out as anything special.

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