Summary
- Lionsgate's Borderlands film is a critical flop at 0% on Rotten Tomatoes.
- Eli Roth was not the right fit to direct this video game adaptation.
- The film attempted to appeal to a wider audience, but failed due to its mature content.
Hollywood has never truly had the best of luck when it comes to adapting some of the biggest video games into live-action. However, recently, things seemed to be looking up following the success of The Last of Us and even Prime Video's Fallout, two shows that have found success with general audiences and critics alike. Unfortunately, Lionsgate's Borderlands film looks to be a misfire on all fronts straight out of the gate.
Borderlands is the latest video game adaptation set to hit theaters this weekend. The movie, which was directed by Eli Roth, features a star-studded cast including the likes of Kevin Hart and Cate Blanchett. It's also one of the worst reviewed adaptations on Rotten Tomatoes, having officially debuted on the site with a shocking 0% rating. So, what went wrong with Borderlands? Is it simply not a movie general audiences want to see, or did Lionsgate accidentally doom the film before it had the chance to get going?
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Why Eli Roth Was Never the Right Director
Eli Roth is one of the biggest directors in the modern horror genre. He's known for pushing boundaries with his films and leaving his mark on them, often overdoing it on the gore, as evidenced in movies like Hostel and The Green Inferno. While horror fans have come to enjoy his work, Roth has admittedly never been a household name when it comes to directing, and nearly all of his films have been aimed at a mature audience. Which is why it never made sense for Lionsgate to hire Roth to direct a live-action adaptation of Borderlands, one that was bound to be limited for a larger appeal. Roth is a director who doesn't necessarily work well within the confines of a PG-13 rating. While the director has ventured outside of his usual comfort zone before, with 2018's The House with a Clock in Its Walls, the PG-rated movie wasn't a strong performer, earning just $131 million worldwide and a Rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes. Following production on the Borderlands movie in 2021, Roth returned to working on his typical R-rated horror films with Thanksgiving kicking off production in 2023. As Roth sought to focus on his next directing gig, Lionsgate had to bring in Deadpool director, Tim Miller, to handle reshoots on Borderlands.
Reports had already begun to circulate around this time that the movie was a mess, and that Lionsgate wasn't happy with it. Although never confirmed, it was said that test screenings for the film had been poorly received, and the studio was eager to try to save it with reshoots. Sadly, that doesn't look to have happened as the movie debuted with a shocking 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes before eventually going up to a dismal 4%. The problem, however, shouldn't necessarily be blamed on Roth, but rather on Lionsgate. Roth has found success in the horror genre, yes, but he was never the right director for Borderlands. Especially if the film was going to be rated PG-13.
Borderlands Isn't Meant to be a Family Film
One of the many issues with Borderlands is that Lionsgate seems to have tried to turn it into a family film. However, Bordrlands isn't a property that should be watered down. After all, Borderlands is very much a mature game; it's not meant for a younger audience, given both the violence and language showcased throughout the games. So, it made no sense to try and turn the movie into a generic popcorn flick that looks to have wanted to be a mix of Guardians of the Galaxy and every other big action flick of recent years. More importantly, though, by watering down the film for a wider audience, Lionsgate also made the movie look cheap, with both the costuming and set designs. Unfortunately for the studio, it seems Lionsgate realized its problem far too late. Despite putting on an noteworthy presentation at San Diego Comic-Con, trying to get fans excited for the film, the studio never truly seemed to believe in the final product. Unlike Fallout, and even The Last of Us, which were both highly promoted by their respective streaming homes, Borderlands felt like it was dumped with minimal promotion near the end.
As it stands, Borderlands is only on track to earn between $13 million and $18 million in its opening weekend. It's set to be beat out by Marvel Studios' Deadpool & Wolverine, which is going into its third weekend, and the adaptation of the best-selling book, It Ends With Us. Lionsgate has reportedly teamed with T-Mobile to try and offer $5 tickets as part of the network carrier's weekly deals for subscribers, but its last ditch efforts seem to be far too late. Borderlands was a project that, had the studio took the time to find the proper director, could have been a huge hit for the studio. Ultimately, though, Lionsgate hurt itself by picking a director that always felt like a weird choice, and trying to capture the tone of the video games with a constricting PG-13. If, and when, another Borderlands adaptation eventually happens, one can only hope the producers and studio learn from why adaptations of Fallout and The Last of Us were so successful.
Borderlands is now playing exclusively in theaters everywhere.
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