The Borderlands Trailer Proves The Movie Is Facing An Uphill Battle

Highlights

The Borderlands movie trailer left some fans disappointed with its outdated humor, lacking the expected light-hearted and relatable elements from the game.
Some Borderlands fans upset with casting choices and missing characters in film adaptation, fearing it may not capture the essence of the game.
Despite mixed reactions from fans, some are excited about the visual look of the Borderlands trailer and look forward to the film's release in 2024.

The Borderlands film adaptation began in 2015, with Lionsgate developing the project and Arad Productions producing. In 2020, active development started after Eli Roth, who helmed Hostel, Green Inferno and Fin, was attached to direct the project. The production began shooting in Hungary on April 1, 2021, and wrapped up nearly three months later, on June 22.

However, since the release date was still years away, the cast members did a reshoot last year with Tim Miller stepping in for Roth, who was working on the feature version of the Grindhouse trailer Thanksgiving. After years of waiting, the public got a glimpse of the anticipated film, but some were disappointed.

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Borderlands' Humor is outdated

The Borderlands game is known for its signature sense of humor. The gameplay is peppered with tons of sometimes off-color jokes, with the enemies delivering funny lines while dying, like "Jokes on you, I'm in massive debt!" and "I just paid off my house!" throughout the game. The first Borderlands is known for its cynical, dark humor, and while Borderlands 2 is still funny, it's not as humorous as the first installment. For example, Knoxx is a fan-favorite due to his cleverness and for being reasonable in what seems to be an unreasonable situation in Borderlands 1. However, if he was made in Borderlands 2, he would be an exaggerated General Ripper. No matter what iteration of the franchise one has played, there is a certain captivating humor in each character and story arc.

Borderlands
Director	Eli Roth
Writer	Eli Roth, Joe Crombie
Cast	Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Bobby Lee, Gina Gershon, Ariana Greenblatt, Jamie Lee Curtis, Florian Munteanu, and Jack Black
Release Date	August 4, 2024

However, in the movie trailer, there is a noticeable disconnect from the expected humor in each character. For example, in one scene, Tiny Tina asks her companions about a certain smell while they are driving. The scent is presumably not okay with Roland telling her it is "piss" and she exclaims, "Ew." However, when Lilith tells her to roll up the window she declines until a splash of liquid strikes her face and goes inside their car. Tiny Tina overreacted and sounded like she was about to cry while saying, "It's in my mouth." However, Tiny Tina is known for her semi-perverted humor and is unlikely to react that way. One of her hilarious quotes that stuck among fans was her narration in Assault on Dragon Keep DLC where she described the environment and added some hilarious details, specifically about scent. Tina said:

I meant to say, it's eternal night, and you hear spooky music, and the whole area kinda smells like butts and dead people.

In another part of the trailer, Roland and Tiny Tina argued over the explosion the latter created, which she described as a "minimal explosion." However, the former corrected her, telling her, he told her there would be "no explosion" and she just rolled her eyes. Borderlands fans knew Tiny Tina would have reacted differently. She would probably make fun of Roland and make him even more mad because Tiny Tina is unhinged.

Overall, the humor in Borderlands falls short because the characters weren't exactly how they were seen in the videogame. Although it somehow gives the same fun vibes, it doesn't deliver the dark and cynical humor typically observed in the franchise. However, humor is subjective and while some viewers probably don't find the trailer extremely funny, for others the same scenes mentioned earlier are probably silly and cringy enough, just like the game.

Borderlands fans vs General Audiences: Will anyone be happy?

Borderlands has an unusually good script for a video game, which is among the reasons it has earned a massive following. Honestly, it's difficult to picture Borderlands without humor. The characters are also unbelievably crazy, loud and unhinged like Tiny Tina, which only adds to the comical feature of the franchise. So, fans expect to see these elements in the film, but the trailer falls short of delivering what is expected. For instance, upon seeing Krieg, they expected to hear him say, "I'm the conductor of the poop train!" The character was introduced in Borderlands 2 using the line that had stuck in the fans' minds.

Additionally, many were not satisfied with the live-action version of Tiny Tina, played by actress Ariana Greenblatt. In the game, she was introduced as a kid, but still one of the most dangerous characters due to her penchant for weapons-grade explosives. She even created Wonderlands, a magical playground to give her fans some thrill and excitement. However, in the trailer, Tiny Tina didn't appear as fun as the character in the video game, which was a major turnoff to some. Although the character acts the role and fits the archetype in the trailer, most fans don't like the vibe she projects in the film.

Several netizens also expressed their disapproval of the casting of Kevin Hart as Roland and Cate Blanchett as Lilith. Hart has been known for his comedy roles, so he seems not fit for the role of Roland, a highly trained private military of the Atlas Corporation and former soldier of the Crimson Lance. Roland is serious and he is skilled at handling weapons. He prefers shotguns and combat rifles. Additionally, Roland is supposed to be six feet tall, so Hart is too short to portray the soldier. Another casting that raises eyebrows is Blanchett as Lilith. Those who play the game are fully aware that the character is still young and they find the 54-year-old actress too old for Lilith, who was 22 years old in Borderlands 1 and 27 in Borderlands 2.

There is actually a mixed reaction to the trailer. Several did not hide their disappointment after watching the trailer, with a number saying it would be a "flop." Another found the trailer too different from the franchise with one saying it was "this is not it." Some fans said it didn't feel like Borderlands at all because it wasn't chaotic enough and not messy enough. Plus, Brick and Mordecai were missing, which was another major turnoff for fans. Some also joked it was too similar to Guardians of the Galaxy and it was like a spinoff.

Given the negative feedback from fans, the film might struggle at the box office. However, despite the backlash, some Borderlands fans were satisfied with what they saw in the trailer. They approved of the visual look, especially the costumes and props for its weapons like guns. For them, the trailer was fun enough and exciting, so they were looking forward to watching the film.

Borderlands will hit theaters on August 9, 2024.

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Borderlands

Borderlands is an action RPG first-person shooter created by Gearbox Software and published by 2K Games. The series is commonly called a looter shooter set in a space Western style, where players can select from multiple classes that can level up and acquire new skills. The franchise has quickly become one of the best-selling franchises and produced spin-offs like Tales from the Borderlands as well as a film adaptation being developed by Lionsgate.