Borderlands Film Early Reactions Explodes To Mostly Negative Reception On Social Media

The forthcoming film adaptation of Gearbox's looter shooter series Borderlands held multiple premieres this week, which many film critics, reporters, and media persons attended. The embargo on the film was recently lifted, and the first impressions have been published — and they're not looking good.

The reviews uploaded to various online and social media platforms have criticized the film's screenplay, lackluster character development, and the film's CGI quality while praising its set production design. With the film currently slated to release in theatres on 9th August 2024, these early impressions may impact the film's box office success given that it will go head-to-head with Marvel Studios' Deadpool & Wolverine, looking for a third successful week.

Early first impressions have made their rounds online, revealing some harsh criticisms aimed at the upcoming action comedy film. Bitesize Break's Adriano Caporusso posted on Twitter calling the Borderlands film a "disaster," citing that it's "filled with every cliché you can ponder; this film swaps the mayhem and imagination of the games for a lifeless, unfunny, and visually repulsive dud with annoying characters and a cast with not one ounce of chemistry."

Staff writer at Loud And Clear Reviews Edgar Ortega also posted to their Twitter account, writing, "There is not a single earnest character moment here, just obnoxious quips that feel dated as soon as they leave the actors' mouths. It's not even so bad it's good, just a complete mess." Awesome Friday! reporter Matthew Simpson added that they "really wanted to like it," but a couple of missteps, including its "uninspired plot, several phoned-in performances, being stuck in a weird place where it looks both expensive and cheap at the same time, make it a huge misfire."

Not all the early first impressions of Borderlands have been negative, with freelance film critic and blogger Sean Patrick Kelly praising the film's "exceptional level of detail for those who have played the video games." The Hollywood Handle praised Blanchett's performance, commenting that the film relied on her "star power to carry itself to the finish line — and she delivers."

While there's nothing that particularly makes it stand out from the crowd, the film is enjoyable from start to finish and has decent pacing throughout. Jack Black is also a comedic powerhouse.

The Borderlands film, directed by Eli Roth and distributed by Lionsgate, began production between May 2020 and April 2021, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Casting announcements were slowly revealed through various media outlets shortly as production started, with Academy Award-winner Cate Blanchett cast as Lilith.