Eli Roth’s ‘Borderlands’ Turns Popular Video Game Into Throwaway Galactic Knockoff 

Alci Rengifo

Eli Roth’s “Borderlands” rarely feels like an actual movie unspooling on screen. Nearly every scene, every action, every conversation, has the artificial sensation of something automated. It borrows bits and pieces from other, better movies, to attempt an adaptation of the popular looter shooter video game. The posters and advertisements promised something different from Roth, best known as a director specializing in campy horror. Once in a while he gets out of his comfort zone. With “Borderlands,” he’s simply wandering around a cash zone, because what other incentive was there to make this movie in this way? But let’s not lose ourselves in total dismay. There is at least one robot in the story that proves to be an absolute riot.

Set out in the cosmos, with an intro voiceover telling us about the great powers of the ancient Eridians, the plot kicks off with Lilith (Cate Blanchett), a rugged bounty hunter hired approached by Atlas (Edgar Ramírez), the CEO of the powerful Atlas Corporation. He needs Lilith’s services to find his kidnapped daughter, Tiny Tina (Ariana Greenblatt), who has been whisked away to the wasteland planet Pandora. Lilith is not only a renowned hunter, she happens to be a Pandora native. Once Lilith lands in the junkyard world, she finds Tiny Tina and an assortment of colorful side characters like big, snarling Krieg (Florian Munteanu), expert shooter Roland (Kevin Hart) and blabbermouth robot Claptrap (Jack Black). Pretty soon it becomes apparent Tiny Tina isn’t really Atlas’ daughter. The cosmic needs her as a “key” to open a massive vault containing Eridian riches.

Unlike a video game, you can’t choose missions or re-start with a movie. Judged as a story, “Borderlands” feels late to the party. Coming from Eli Roth, it’s a surprisingly tamed wannabe to galactic misfits like “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “The Suicide Squad,” the two obvious, immediate movies this one is trying to shadow. The screenplay by Roth and Joe Crombie holds back and never goes for the mixture of comedy and heart that made “Guardians” one of the best MCU properties. The characters have few layers or backstory, functioning merely as cogs moving from one plot point to another, recycling old sci-fi tropes along the way. Cinematographer Rogier Stoffers gives everything a colorful palette, possibly borrowing inspiration from cult classics like “Tank Girl.” On that level, you can disconnect from what’s happening on screen and just look at the movie, including its cosplay-worthy wardrobe, but where’s the life?

These plots function like road movies, so there’s plenty of wandering around Pandora, which is so barren Roth barely adds anything exciting to it. Dragon-like creatures swoop in and eat other critters, but never reappear in the plot. Eventually the gang go underground and fight off a gang known as “Psychos,” who look like refugees from either a bad Paris rave or “Batman Forever.” Chases take place in tunnels with flowing, green ooze. Janina Gavankar flies in as the leader of a band of crimson troops who don’t do much except get into boring shootouts with Lilith and crew. Gina Gershon seems to be enjoying herself as Moxxi, who runs an establishment on Pandora imaginatively named Red Light. She looks decked in a wardrobe borrowed from a steampunk Western. But all her dialogue is pure exposition. The truth is none of these characters seem to matter. As a result, we don’t develop any real sense of urgency for them. 

The one character that feels closer to Roth and is the one truly entertaining feature is Claptrap. Written like a hyperactive, chatty R2-D2, the small, swiveling robot companion gets all the best, snappy lines. He annoyingly sings while driving a vehicle, calls Lilith a “she-devil” and unloads a swarm of bullets stuck in its body the way we may deal with a bathroom emergency. Jack Black gives the character the kind of looney energy the rest of the movie is sorely missing. Last year, Roth delivered a fun surprise with his slasher feature, “Thanksgiving.” That one felt like a director enjoying working in a genre he loves. One doesn’t feel the same attachment from him to “Borderlands.” When a filmmaker like Zack Snyder makes a self-indulgent machine like “Rebel Moon,” at least there’s genuine devotion to the camp. 

On a curious note, these franchise movies have been defying ageist prejudices. Cate Blanchett at 55 looks more than fitting as Lilith, posing like she owns Pandora. Alas, she is wasted by not being given the chance to truly have fun with the material. Give her good one-liners. She should be a female Han Solo with charm to spare. “Borderlands” instead is hopeful that audiences will flock based on brand recognition alone. Roth also avoids copying the “Guardians of the Galaxy” formula of using wall-to-wall classic needle drops, but in this case, it might have added a bit more juice. Maybe someone else who is allowed to genuinely go for broke should do the inevitable sequel.

“Borderlands” releases Aug. 9 in theaters nationwide.