The highly anticipated “Borderlands” movie, based on the popular video game series, has hit a major snag with its early reviews. As the film prepares for its wide release, it has debuted on Rotten Tomatoes with a rare and unfortunate score of 0%. Not a single critic has given the film a positive review, marking a disastrous start for this big-screen adaptation.
Directed by Eli Roth, the “Borderlands” movie was expected to follow in the footsteps of recent successful video game adaptations like “The Last of Us” and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” However, the critical response suggests that “Borderlands” is more reminiscent of the dark days of video game movies, harking back to flops like “Street Fighter” and “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation.”
Critics have been scathing in their assessments. Clarisse Loughrey from The Independent compared the movie’s quality to “a drunk person attempting to place a 3am chicken nugget order,” giving it a 1 out of 5 rating. Alistair Ryder of AwardsWatch described “Borderlands” as “the worst kind of bad movie,” noting its insufferable nature and lack of originality, despite its brisk 102-minute runtime.
Jim Slotek of Original Cin argued that the film’s noise and lack of purpose made it “Exhibit Z in the argument that video games don’t transfer well cinematically,” particularly disappointing given the recent successes of other adaptations. Discussing Film’s Andrew J. Salazar echoed these sentiments, suggesting that even fans of the video game will find little to enjoy, calling the movie a “vapid, creatively bankrupt crime.”
The film’s ensemble cast, including stars like Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Jamie Lee Curtis, has done little to salvage the movie in the eyes of critics. Despite the talent involved, the movie has been criticized for its unlikable characters and a plot that rushes through too many points without any meaningful development.
David Fear of Rolling Stone delivered one of the most brutal takedowns, calling “Borderlands” an “insult to gamers, movie lovers, and carbon-based life forms,” while William Bibbiani of The Wrap noted that the film isn’t even interesting enough to be considered “so bad it’s good.” He described it as “mass-produced pabulum,” devoid of the quirky edges that could have at least made it a cult classic.
With such overwhelmingly negative reviews, “Borderlands” is facing an uphill battle as it heads into its opening weekend. The 0% score on Rotten Tomatoes places it in the company of some of the worst-reviewed movies of all time, and unless audience reception is dramatically different, it seems likely that the film will struggle both critically and commercially.
This disappointing debut is a blow not only to the “Borderlands” franchise but also to the broader efforts to adapt video games into successful films. While recent adaptations have shown that it is possible to break the so-called “video game movie curse,” “Borderlands” appears to be a significant step backward, reminding audiences of an era when such adaptations were more often than not a critical failure.