Borderlands is a 2024 American science fiction action comedy film co-written and directed by Eli Roth, based on the video game series developed by Gearbox Software.
It stars Cate Blanchett as Lillith, an outlaw who forms an alliance with a team of misfits to find the missing daughter of the most powerful man in the universe.
[4] The ensemble cast also features Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Edgar Ramirez, Ariana Greenblatt, Florian Munteanu, Gina Gershon, and Jamie Lee Curtis.
By February 2020, Erik Feig had joined as a producer and Roth was attached to direct from a screenplay by Craig Mazin.
The film received generally negative reviews from critics for its script, action sequences, humor, PG-13 rating, unoriginality, underdeveloped characters, and lack of chemistry; though some praised Blanchett's performance.
On the planet of Pandora, Roland, a mercenary soldier apparently gone rogue, kidnaps teenager Tiny Tina with the help of Krieg, a "Psycho" who was institutionalized in the same facility.
Lilith is informed that Tina was genetically engineered with biological material from the Eridians, the ancient race that once inhabited Pandora, and that Atlas believes only she can open the Vault where the secrets of the lost civilization's advanced technology are kept.
With the help of Lilith's estranged foster mother, Dr. Patricia Tannis, they locate the key to open the Vault in an underground maze occupied by a tribe of Psychos.
Lilith destroys the device Atlas entrusted her with to signal when she had rescued Tina, and he immediately communicates with her via robotic drone, explaining that he still wants the girl.
The next day, without Lilith and Claptrap, the team find the Vault only to realize Atlas is waiting for them, and they fight off his men.
Additionally, Penn Jillette, who voiced Pain in the video game Borderlands 3 (2019), was going to have a cameo in the film as a preacher overseeing a wedding;[17] this scene was cut from the final version.
[27][28] On February 20, 2020, Lionsgate announced that Roth was attached to direct the film from a screenplay written by Craig Mazin, with Erik Feig joining as producer through his production company Picturestart.
"[34] Kevin Hart trained with United States Navy SEALs prior to auditioning for the role of Roland.
[40] In January 2023, it was announced the film would be going through two weeks of reshoots directed by Tim Miller, due to Roth's commitments to Thanksgiving.
[43] Additional literary material was credited to Berg, Uziel, Taylor, Rettenmaier, Olkewicz, Chris Bremner, and Sam Levinson.
[52] Sales of Borderlands 3 on Steam rose after the film's release and the concurrent player amount doubled from around 6,000 to a peak of 12,231.
[56] In the United States and Canada, Borderlands was released alongside It Ends with Us and Cuckoo, and was projected to gross $8–16 million from 3,125 theaters in its opening weekend.
"[65] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 26 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.
"[68] The Independent said it was a "total disaster"[69] while Rolling Stone wondered if Borderlands was the worst video game movie ever.
Vivid character actors like Gina Gershon and Jamie Lee Curtis ... are trapped in stale genre types.
"[73] Among the more positive reviews, MovieWeb wrote, "Roth displays his cinematic prowess with solid combat scenes.