‘Borderlands’: Review

Dir: Eli Roth. US. 2024. 101mins

In her chameleonic career, Cate Blanchett has donned many guises – but never before has she had the chance to be a gun-toting, ass-kicking action star. Sadly, Borderlands is an unworthy vehicle for her swaggering performance as the reluctant leader of a ragtag bunch of misfits trying to rescue the daughter of an evil corporate overlord. Based on the popular video game, and freely lifting from Star Wars and Guardians Of The Galaxy, Eli Roth’s sci-fi film boasts plenty of marquee names but little originality in terms of spectacle or laughs. 

It’s fleetingly amusing to watch Blanchett flex her wit and grace amidst this motley crew

Borderlands hits UK and US theatres on August 9, and even those unfamiliar with the game series, which started in 2009, may be tempted by an action-comedy that stars Blanchett alongside Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Edgar Ramirez and Jamie Lee Curtis. Hyper-violent — but not bloody, so as to avoid a restrictive rating that would keep teenagers from seeing the film — this energetic, derivative genre offering may struggle in a marketplace dominated by Deadpool & Wolverine and the imminent arrival of Alien: Romulus. And with a hefty price tag reportedly around $100 million, Borderlands may be yet another summer 2024 release that ends up labelled a commercial flop.

As the film begins, the intrepid, hardened bounty hunter Lilith (Blanchett) is approached by Atlas (Ramirez), an evil tech genius who hires her to track down his daughter, Tiny Tina (Ariana Greenblatt), who has gone missing. Not wishing to be involved with Atlas but unable to turn down his lucrative terms, Lilith visits the hellish planet of Pandora, which she fled as a girl, in hopes of locating Tiny Tina. But when Lilith does find her, she realises others are also looking for her — including soldier Roland (Hart) — and they are all forced to work together once they discover Atlas has more nefarious reasons for wanting his child returned home.

Roth’s follow-up to last year’s Thanksgiving, whose tight production schedule required him to turn Borderlands’ reshoots over to Deadpool director Tim Miller, includes several of the video game’s memorable characters. (In addition, images from the film directly echo scenes in the game.) And Borderlands clearly draws inspiration from its source material’s reputation as one of the pioneering ‘looter shooter’ games, first-person shooters that allow players to acquire different rewards along the way. In layman’s terms, this means that Roth gives his antiheroes multiple chances to blast everything in sight, the mayhem often scored to fist-pumping hard-rock bands like Motorhead. 

Whether it’s the smart-aleck robot sidekick Claptrap (voiced by Black) or the myriad shots of the female characters’ heaving cleavage, Borderlands sports an impish juvenile streak meant to be boyish and escapist. Unfortunately, Roth has never been a particularly inventive filmmaker, and so the picture’s sophomoric sense of humour and infrequently engaging set pieces only reinforce the suspicion that Borderlands is little more than a rehash of previous sci-fi pictures. Whereas James Gunn was skilful at creating lovably dysfunctional de facto families in the Guardians Of The Galaxy franchise and The Suicide Squad, Roth populates his story with dull renegades who are never emotionally absorbing. And despite Daniel Orlandi’s colourful costumes and Rogier Stoffers’ flashy cinematography, the film seldom springs to life. And, as Borderlands features little swearing or graphic violence, this supposedly irreverent, down-and-dirty action flick feels neutered.  

Not many in the starry ensemble shine. Vivid character actors like Gina Gershon and Jamie Lee Curtis, who, respectively, play an alluring club owner and a respected scientist, are trapped in stale genre types. Even the potentially intriguing change-of-pace performances — such as Hart in a far more sombre turn than we expect from the explosive comedian — flatline.

What keeps Borderlands mildly involving is Blanchett’s game portrayal of the Han Solo-like Lilith, who professes not to care about anyone before, predictably, having a change of heart over the course of the film. The Oscar-winning actress is saddled with the same achingly ‘hip’ dialogue as the rest of her costars and, in keeping with the picture’s male gaze, Lilith exclusively rocks skin-tight outfits. Nonetheless, Blanchett manages to craft a few winningly cocky moments as this ace gunslinger and world-weary cynic, leaning into her character’s sexy, strutting essence. 

In Blanchett’s occasional villain roles, like in Hanna or Thor: Ragnarok, she has demonstrated a flair for flashy, modulated showboating, but Lilith is something different for her: an unalloyed hero that gives the audience a likeable rooting interest. It’s fleetingly amusing to watch Blanchett flex her wit and grace amidst this motley crew of outsiders and reprobates. But Lilith so easily outclasses everything around her that Borderlands is that rare would-be blockbuster where you wish the main character could get her own standalone feature, just so she can escape this meagre adventure.