Eli Roth’s Borderlands adaptation boasts an impressive cast with Cate Blanchett as Lilith, Jack Black as Claptrap, and Jamie Lee Curtis, but ultimately falls flat as a lifeless slog that squanders its potential. The film follows Tiny Tina, Roland, and Kriege as they search for a legendary vault on Pandora, with Lilith recruited to rescue Tina. Despite obligatory action scenes, the film lacks depth and fails to develop its characters, leaving the talented cast underutilized. Blanchett, in particular, seems miscast as an action heroine. Borderlands’ lack of meaningful relationships and unfulfilled potential result in a boring movie, leaving audiences longing for more engaging game adaptations like Sonic or The Last of Us. Ultimately, Borderlands feels like a missed opportunity that could have been better suited as a streaming series, and fails to live up to its promising premise.
