Fans of the engaging and exciting world of Gearbox Software and 2K Games’ “Borderlands” have been left disappointed by the recent movie adaptation. Known for encouraging exploration, teamwork, and a constant drive to attain new weaponry, the games feature a vast universe laden with memorable characters and distinctive settings. Sadly, these elements fail to transition effectively to the big screen in Eli Roth’s “Borderlands”. Despite boasting big names like Cate Blanchett and Kevin Hart, the movie itself falls short of the iconic status of its namesake.
In particular, the movie's strange mishandling of action scenes – a bread and butter element in the game franchise – is readily apparent. Despite recent convincing examples of commercially and critically successful video game movies like “The Last of Us” and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”, Roth’s adaptation of “Borderlands” serves as reminder that not all attempts to move from console to screen are successful. There is a genuine risk that poorly executed adaptations could risk tainting the affection held for these games by the gaming community. In this way, "Borderlands" acts as a warning of the potential for havok that poorly handled film adaptations can wreak on the legacy of beloved video game IPs.
