- Director: Eli Roth
- Screenplay: Eli Roth, Joe Crombie
- Cast: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Édgar Ramírez, Ariana Greenblatt, Florian Munteanu, Gina Gershon, Jamie Lee Curtis
- Cinematography: Rogier Stoffers
- Editing: Julian Clarke, Evan Henke
- Score: Steve Jablonsky
- Genre: Science fiction action comedy
- Runtime: 102 minutes
Having never played the ‘Borderlands’ series of video games, I didn’t know what to expect from the movie adaptation. Most game-to-screen adaptations seem to result in critical flops but this, in my opinion, feels like it could be an exception.
Gung-ho bounty hunter Lilith (Cate Blanchett) is tasked by bad guy Atlas to retrieve his daughter (Ariana Greenblatt, breakout star of last year’s ‘Barbie‘), who he believes hold the key to opening ‘the Vault’, a treasure trove containing ancient technology from a past civilisation. Lilith rebels, and forms a ragtag team of loveable rogues – among them: an elite mercenary (Kevin Hart), an irritating robot (Jack Black), and a nutty scientist (Jamie Lee Curtis) as they seek the means to access ‘the Vault’ themselves before Atlas can. I loved the ensemble feel, with each character having a distinct personality and I thought they gelled well as a group.
It’s hardly original; it’s a blend of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy‘ (a colourful gang of misfits, travelling through the cosmos together, fighting evil etc.), ‘Star Wars‘ (the enemy soldiers resembling Stormtroopers and a set piece similar to the Mos Eisley Cantina) and ‘Mad Max‘ (desert-based lunatics on wheels). However, this didn’t detract from the fun levels one iota – a rollicking ‘space-western’-style adventure with mayhem around every corner and shoot-shoot-bang-bang approach to storytelling, but with time for enough pathos and a stab at backstory exploration.
I’d appreciate it if they made a sequel delving into the personal history of the characters a little more but I won’t be too surprised if this doesn’t materialise.
My rating: 7 / 10
SilverScreen 