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When my friends and I were waiting at a busy cinema lobby, two mobies were screened at the same hour - one very-well received by the worldwide audience and critics alike, a massive box office success, full of comedy, humour, great storytelling and incredible visuals. The other one was Borderlands.
Afterwards, after we moved to an almost completely empty screening hall, we did not have much hope for the movie. Most of us have seen the trailers, the ill-chosen cast, the early reviews. Being fans of the Borderlands games however, and having already paid for the tickets, we stayed for the show.
I'll move straight to the main point - some aspects of the movie are straight-up disappointing. Plot holes are frequent. The pacing is quite bad. While some CGI effects look incredibly cool, others are simply laughable (*ekhm* Tiny Tina throwing bombs at Lilith). Tannis has been turned into a clueless grandma. Atlas is just a weak villain. I could go on for long.
Why did I enjoy the movie then, in spite of all its shortfalls? It's because, in my opinon, for every negative there exists a positive that redeems this ill-fated production.
Starting with the characters - even if Tannis, Lilith or General Knoxx were weak, I absolutely adored the portrayal of Clap-Trap, Krieg, Tiny Tina, Marcus or Moxxi. Their actors really embraced the spirits of their characters well. Kevin Hart as Roland did a pretty good job as well. The environments are crafted beautifully, as though Promethea and Pandora came to life. Most action scenes are quite thrilling, be it the outrunner chase through canyons or a battle against a horde of psychos. The story is pretty mediocore, but I think it does a good job at introducing the overall vibe and story of the Borderlands' universe.
In conclusion, I think this movie is unjustly hated on so much. It's certainly not a masterpiece, but also not "the worst movie of all time" as many reviewers would state. It's just... enjoyable. I'd bet that if a sequel ever came out, it'd be greatly improved (especially if it was 18+). However, seeing how Borderlands movie absolutely bombed money-wise, we most likely will never see the sequel and that is the real shame.