Most of the Borderlands games' renown comes from their tight gunplay, showers of loot, and colorful world-building. There isn't much of a compelling narrative tying everything together, especially if you look at the highly criticized third mainline entry. A successful big-screen adaptation would have to double down on a 'style over substance' approach and nail the absurdist fun and humor. Sadly, Lionsgate and Eli Roth's take on the material utterly fails to hit the target.
The Borderlands movie – which has been in development for longer than anyone can remember – kicks things off with a solid expository intro: Cate Blanchett's Lilith tells us the basics about humanity's place among the stars in this faraway corporate future, the Eridians, their ancient tech, and why Pandora could be the most important planet in the known universe. It does its job of quickly getting audiences into the mood for a fun sci-fi adventure and effectively delivers the basic information to jump straight into the action. The wonder almost immediately dissipates though.
