Borderland - Just Another Nichebuster?
"Borderlands" is making a bold entrance on the big screen, determined to succeed where "Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves" stumbled just a year ago. Rather than opting for the more sensible route of a streaming series like "Fallout", "Borderlands" is storming with blazing guns into theaters as a flashy $100M+ all-star action-adventure feature film. Is this be enough to secure box-office success, or are we on the verge of witnessing one of the biggest flops in Hollywood history? More importantly, was the trailer of "Borderlands" an early indicator of where the film was headed?
Story VS Spectacle
The trailer clearly shows that a lot of money has been poured into the film, ensuring it looks as polished as any US summer blockbuster should. But beyond the flashy effects and big-name cast, will the story hold up? Indeed, one of my early concern, based solely on the trailer, is how well "Borderlands" will balance its storytelling with its visual spectacle.
From what can be seen in the trailer, the film appears to revolve around a basic fetch quest, featuring characters inspired by the original IP, over-the-top humor, and a mashup of reminiscent titles such as "Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves", "Mad Max", "Fallout", and "Suicide Squad". While this sounds somewhat entertaining on paper, there's a fine line between a movie that's a fun ride and one that feels hollow, relying too heavily on tropes, visual effects, an overabundance of pee jokes, and a complete disregard for the original material—failing to pay tribute to the legion of fans and players (one of the film's key target demographics, admittedly).
Casting Discourse
The casting is undoubtedly one of the film's strongest points for the general public—certainly less so for loyal fans. With names like Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Cate Blanchett, the movie is banking on the popularity of these A-listers to draw wide audiences into theaters during the summer. However, this choice has also sparked discourse and discontent among the game community. Admittedly, the choice of performers doesn't seem to meet the expectations set by the game characters—an opinion I can't directly endorse due to my lack of experience with the interactive IP.
Directorial Choice
The choice of Eli Roth as the director is a complete mystery to me. Known more for his work in horror than in big-budget action-fantasy films, Roth's involvement raises questions about the genre this film aims to depict. While it's always exciting to see directors step out of their comfort zones and take on new challenges, one can't help but compare this situation to Mike Newell, who was mostly known for "Four Weddings and a Funeral" before taking on "Prince of Persia." How this happened, and why—I truly don't know.
Early Reception
The early reviews of "Borderlands" have been brutal, with IGN rating the film 3/10 and Rotten Tomatoes showing a 0% satisfaction rating upon release (now adjusted to 10% from critics and 50% from audience members). Take-Two, the game studio behind the franchise, has made extra PR efforts to ask viewers and gamers to "give the film a chance"—which comes across as a little desperate, if not sad. At the time of writing, the film has only secured $8,601,572 on its opening weekend and $13,515,394 worldwide after the first week of release. Considering that a movie of this scale needs to recoup at least one-third of its budget to be considered "profitable," it's very likely "Borderlands" will be a loss for Lionsgate Films (estimated budget: $115,000,000).
Misunderstanding the IP (and the fans)
Only time will tell if "Borderlands" will win over audiences, but it’s certain the film had a pretty horrific start—something that could have been anticipated from the first watch of the trailer. It's obvious to me that "Borderlands" would have had a greater level of adoption if the project had been produced as a series with a rising cast, giving the audience time to connect with the world and protagonists instead of "Michael Bay-ing" this IP without truly understanding what it means for its first fans—the players.
Final Thoughts
"Borderlands" is a film I will probably watch on VOD or a streaming platform. I'm still curious to see how this release functions as an adaptation and look forward to understanding where it succeeds and where it fails to convert fans of the title into a phenomenon. Yet, I have very low expectations for a satisfying narrative and storylines. At this stage, it's very unlikely "Borderlands" will break the mold to offer something truly unique to the public; it’s more likely to fall into the predicted tropes of style over substance.
Whether you plan to see "Borderlands" on the big screen, wait for it to hit streaming platforms, or skip it altogether (which is also a very valid option), there's no denying the overall discontent surrounding its release. Let's wait and see if the film can recover from its struggling debut and whether "Borderlands" will be able to reach cult status due to the public discontent expressed online.
Mentioned and Featured:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lU_NKNZljoQ
Copyright Credit: Lionsgate / Media Capital Technologies / Picturestart production / Gearbox Studios / 2K production.
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