Translating between one medium and another isn’t a small task. Improvements in technology and a growing art base taking the medium seriously have resulted in a golden age for video-game-to-film adaptations. While not exactly Citizen Kane, these films have become crowd pleasers, adapting the spirit and making a healthy profit. In 2024, with the franchise in an interesting position, Gearbox finally got its cinematic adaptation of its hit game franchise, Borderlands.

Long ago, the Eridians lived. They were clever, but hid their technology in a vault on a planet, Pandora. It’s since become a bit of a lawless wasteland, with everybody trying to get their hand on the keys to the vault. A prophecy says that one girl, Tina, will be the key to finally getting that vault open, so naturally, every outlaw on Pandora wants Tina, including Lilith, a bounty hunter; Roland, an ex-soldier; and Kreig, a childlike behemoth. As these unlikely mercenaries become allies, they’ll soon learn that prophecy and rules are sometimes meant to be broken.

I should preface this by saying, I am one of the few people with an internet connection who found the Borderland game franchise to not be their cup of tea. It takes all sorts to make a world, although I’ve played a few hours of the first one. So, going in relativity blind was fascinating. Bits and pieces gleaned over decades of cultural osmosis presented themselves, but Roth et al. effectively told the solid story of the franchise lore. The franchise is known for its alien landscapes and cell-shade look, and while the translation to film isn’t directly one-to-one, it does evoke the feel of the varied landmass that is Pandora, its inhabitants and its fauna. Maybe a lot of its nuance was lost in the translation on screen, but for a lot of the time, I couldn’t tell. What I could gather is that a lot of the game’s sense of humour and style made the transition to the big screen, offering a newcomer a great taste of the Borderlands experience.

The cast of characters feels especially crafted for this type of film. Such as Lilith, being a bounty hunter, you’ve got Cate Blanchett doing a kinda Decker narration of the film’s events, and I think she’s an interesting pair of eyes into the world of Pandora. Barbie’s own Ariana Greenblatt is now Tina, whose manic quips and antics feel like a stark contrast to her character in Barbie, and alongside her is Kevin Rock, who here is playing Roland. The de facto mascot, Claptrap, is also here, and at times, you couldn’t tell that the voice was Jack Black. Claptrap’s original voice actor has had strong disagreements with Gearbox, but Black manages to fill in well enough that you can hardly notice a difference. Personally, Kreig’s almost child-like innocence managed to made him an endearing character. So you’ll have a wide variety of characters to root for, even if you are, like me, not the biggest fan of the franchise going in.

Borderlands makes sense as a contender for the blockbuster treatment, with its wit, whimsy and tongue-in-cheek wackiness making it a darling for those who live, breathe and thrive on the internet. Roth mostly succeeds in translating that sense of style modernised into an hour and forty minutes, not being able to attest to what changes were made to make a blockbuster like this work. My expectations were met and then some. While I may not be the best fit for scouring Pandora, the loot here is pretty good.

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