Reviewed by: Pamela Karpelenia
CONTRIBUTOR
Moral Rating: | Very Offensive |
Moviemaking Quality: |
|
Primary Audience: | Adults Young-Adults |
Genre: | Sci-Fi Action Comedy Adaptation IMAX |
Length: | 1 hr. 42 min. |
Year of Release: | 2024 |
USA Release: |
August 9, 2024 DVD: October 22, 2024 |
Film based loosely on an action role-playing first-person looter shooter videogame franchise
Space Western
Alliance with a team of misfits to find the missing genetically engineered daughter of the most powerful man in the universe, named Atlas
Mercenary soldiers
Private army
Psychopaths
Bounty hunter
Secrets of a lost civilization's advanced technology
Featuring |
Cate Blanchett … Lilith Jamie Lee Curtis … Tannis, a scientist with a tenuous grip on sanity Haley Bennett … Mom Gina Gershon … Moxxi Ariana Greenblatt … Tiny Tina, a feral pre-teen demolitionist Kevin Hart … Roland, a former elite mercenary Jack Black … Claptrap (voice), a persistently smart aleck robot Janina Gavankar … Knoxx Edgar Ramírez … Atlas Bobby Lee … Larry See all » |
Director |
Eli Roth, known for his explicitly violent and controversially bloody horror films — “The Green Inferno,” “Cabin Fever,” “Hostel” 1-2, etc. |
Producer |
Arad Productions Avi Arad Ari Arad See all » |
Distributor |
Lionsgate (Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.) |
“Chaos loves company”
“Borderlands” opens with the narration of the lead character named “Lilith,” played by Cate Blanchett. We see a successful kidnapping of Tiny Tina (Ariana Greenblatt) by Roland (Kevin Hart), and learn that Lilith is a hardcore bounty hunter with grit and an obscure past.
While in a bar attempting to collect on her current bounty, she is approached by a new potential boss Atlas, a powerful corporate magnate played by Edgar Ramírez. He offers her a job finding, rescuing and retrieving his young teenage daughter Tiny Tina. Lilith agrees, even though it means having to return to her home planet Pandora and confront her past. This opening sets the tone for a forgettable and lackluster film.
I requested this film, because my husband played the game, but when he saw the casting he was very disappointed. After watching the movie I can see why. Cate Blanchett is a great actress, but she did not fit this role; the character she portrays is much younger than the actress herself, so it comes off as forced.
Kevin Hart was miscast as well. It sometimes seems as if he plays the same character in every role he’s in, but in this film they tried to make him more of a hero and serious, and it just did not come across well to the viewing audience. Jack Black lent his voice acting to this film delivering quips throughout, and it was neither here nor there, maybe a chuckle, but ultimately forgettable.
The plot is a ragtag team of highly skilled adventurers team up against a common enemy to protect a child and to find a portal that is supposed to unlock untold powers and related fire-winged warrior goddess named Firehawk. The 13-year-old Tiny Tina is the key to the portal, and that’s why Atlas needs her so bad.
The plot is clunky, and according to my husband isn’t based on the games. As a viewer who has not played the games, I just found the plot to formulaic, nothing new, and boring.
There’s quite a bit of negative content including multiple foul words including over a dozen s-words, a**hole, a**, p*ss off, b*tch, G*d-d*mn, G*d, d*mn, h*ll, and others. Drinking is shown. There is blasphemous language throughout. Almost all the women of Pandora display lots of bare skin and cleavage. And the Pandoran thugs are bare-chested.
The main point is to find your true potential and discover who you really are. From a Biblical point of view it’s important that we discover who are identity is in Christ—sinners in desperate need of a Savior.
This film gets a non-recommendation from me for several reasons. The foul language is unnecessary, the plot is boring, the actors are forced and misplaced, and by the end my husband was falling asleep.
Learn about DISCERNMENT—wisdom in making personal entertainment decisions
Every time you buy a movie ticket or buy or rent a video you are in effect casting a vote telling Hollywood, “I’ll pay for that. That’s what I want.” Read our article
See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.
PLEASE share your observations and insights to be posted here.