Borderlands the movie was largely a critical and commercial failure, but it may have legs yet. Despite adding up to, in the words of the official Inverse review “Guardians of the Galaxy with worse jokes,” the movie did get people talking about a video game series five years after the last release. How could you not with Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, and Jamie Lee Curtis running around on a screen blowing things up? While the movie itself didn’t quite entice as a movie, it was a bit like watching a cool video game. Which, for those who haven’t played, it is.
Now, one year after the flop of a movie and six years after the beloved Borderlands 3, the much anticipated fourth installation of this video game series is out — and there’s a lot to love. Newcomers, like myself, come to the game with completely fresh eyes, only having seen the movie, will find a lot to love in the exposition and tone, a lot to puzzle over in the backstory, and so much to enjoy in the gameplay. At the least, Borderlands 4 can erase the taste that the blockbuster-that-wasn’t left in our mouths — but it promises a lot more than that.
