The story and character approach of the Borderlands film are a double-edged sword

Highlights

The Borderlands movie brings a breath of fresh air to the cast selection and could attract a new audience to the franchise.
A Rotten Tomatoes score of 3% suggests that the film’s success and future potential will be hotly contested.
Fans find the film’s deviation from the game’s continuity uncomfortable, as it risks turning off diehard gamers.

The Borderland Franchise has built a passionate fan base over the years. With each new entry, players flocked to the first-person shooter because of the great characters and interesting stories told by developer Gearbox. The merciless world of Borderland is full of violence and indulgent humor, which contributed to the series’ great success.

Borderland remains a unique franchise in the gaming industry, and its fascinating story and characters ultimately inspired a live-action film adaptation. First announced in 2015, Borderland The film went through a series of internal restructuring with the planned directors and writers. Eventually, horror icon Eli Roth took over the project. Now, with the film’s release date, the Borderland The film is not off to a good start. However, it could at least open up the franchise to a whole new audience.

2:38

Borderlands Zero Percent Rotten Tomatoes

The Borderlands movie has received a rare Rotten Tomatoes rating (not good)

Borderlands failed to satisfy critics, which is also reflected in the rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Borderlands approach to characters could deter gamers but attract non-gamers

Expanding the reach of Borderlands

Since the first cast and trailer for the Borderland film, many players received the film adaptation with a healthy dose of skepticism. The casting for Borderland was quite controversial as many of the actors in the film, while fantastic at what they do, seem to be odd choices. From Cate Blanchett as Lilith to Jamie Lee Curtis as Dr. Patricia Tannis, the film seems to go for big stars rather than being careful with the casting.

However, this could ultimately be a problem for those who are not familiar with Borderland into the franchise. Borderland is an integral part of the gaming world for many, but not as well known as Super Mario Bros. or FortniteEli Roth plays loosely and arbitrarily with the Borderland The film’s plot and choice of characters could be a good way to attract a new audience to the games, which could benefit the franchise in the long run.

On the other hand, this approach could backfire with the game’s core audience. Many who experienced the games have questioned this live-action adaptation from the start, and the previews leading up to the film have only reinforced that fear. Borderland The character selection clearly focuses on the series’ most recognizable names, but failing to honor the games’ stories throws the franchise’s established continuity out the window. This is something that many long-time players will likely not like, as it could make the film feel more like fanfiction than an essential addition to the franchise.

The Borderlands movie has a bad start

Early feedback means trouble for a larger film universe

At the time of writing, the Rotten Tomatoes score for the Borderland The film is sitting at a disastrous 3%. Early reviews have not boded well for the film’s performance at the box office. Ultimately, this could actually be bad for the Borderland franchise as a whole. If the film does poorly at the box office, it will definitely kill any possibility of another cinematic universe, but it could also be bad news for the games. A disappointing film reflects poorly on its source material and Borderland is too entertaining a series to be blamed for the consequences of a bad adaptation.

Given the current popularity of live-action adaptations of video games Borderland could serve as a warning for future attempts to bring another game to the screen. The haphazard way in which the cast and story have come together does not bode well for the future Borderland Productions. However, if Roth’s interpretation succeeds in at least arousing the interest of unknown viewers in the series, then that is at least a win for the entire franchise.