Despite years of build-up and anticipation, theBorderlandsmovie failed to deliver and received an underwhelming reception, but its disappointment hurts even more after a major franchise announcement. The gaming series has been around since 2009 and has produced a number of classic games, indicating that the 2024 movie had plenty of potential. With some huge actors onboard and numerous established characters to use, the future looked bright forBorderlands, but unfortunately, things went wrong. After a shaky production, theBorderlandsmovie broke several unwanted Rotten Tomatoes recordswhen it was finally released, earning just a 10% critical score.
While casting massive stars like Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, and Jack Black sounded great on paper, they didn’t fit the characters they were portraying, which stifled their overall impact.Borderlandstried to copy elements fromGuardians of the Galaxysince the Marvel IP became so successful, but this completely ignored what made the games so good, resulting in a disappointing final product. The movie’s performance was already bad for long-term fans of the franchise, butwithBorderlandsreleasing a big announcement just a few weeks after the movie hit theaters, the project’s failure only continues to get worse.
Borderlands 4’s Announcement Makes The Movie’s Failure Even Worse
The New Game Announcement Feels Much Less Exciting After The Movie Failed To Impress
Less than two weeks after Eli Roth’sBorderlandswas released, Gearbox announcedBorderlands 4, making the movie’s bad reception seem that much worse. The last mainlineBorderlandsgame came out in 2019, and withBorderlands 4officially being confirmed for 2025, the gaming series' return seems like a long time coming.Borderlands 4looks like it’s made some artistic changesalongside potentially including fresh characters and storylines, butthe announcement of a new game isn’t as exciting as it should be after the movie’s disappointment, given the franchise’s momentum is at an all-time low.
Had the movie delivered a faithful and quality adaptation, it would have helped the franchise bounce back fromBorderlands 3’s mixed reception and make a new entry seem more desirable. Instead, so many thingswent wrong with 2024’sBorderlands, making people question if the IP is past its best. Given the timing ofBorderlands 4’s announcement, it was likely held off until after the movie in the hopes that the cinematic adventure would put more eyes on the project, but its performance only hurt the franchise’s reputation, making the film’s failure sting that little bit more.
Timing Has Been A Constant Issue For The Borderlands Movie
Production Issues & Delays Caused Borderlands To Release At An Inopportune Time
Borderlandscoming out just before a major franchise update wasn’t the only timing issue the movie suffered, as it faced problems throughout its entire production. The film was announced back in 2015, meaning it took nearly a decade to finally hit the big screen. WhileBorderlandswas incredibly popular back when the movie was greenlit, the title was off the back of a few bad games by the time the cinematic project actually arrived, which was incredibly bad timing.Numerous delays alongside behind-the-scenes drama causedBorderlandsto be pushed back on several occasions, hence why the production was so long.
Borderlands Makes A Critical Video Game Adaptation Mistake & It Ruined The Movie For Me
Borderlands makes a common adaptation problem, resulting in a movie that loses the focus it needed to properly bring the series to cinematic life.
As a result,Borderlandswas released during an inopportune time when the franchise was arguably at its weakest, which likely had some impact on the overall performance. Although the movie undoubtedly has its flaws, all the surrounding issues seem to have played a part inBorderlands' bad reviews. Had it come out at a time when the series was more popular and there was a greater appetite for this kind of story, the film would have fared a little bit better. Instead, its release only hurt the franchise, withBorderlands 4also suffering from the movie’s unfortunate timing.
Borderlands 4’s Announcement Has A Silver Lining
The Next Game Offers The Chance To Revitalize The Borderlands Franchise
Things may look bleak forBorderlands 4following the poorly received live-action adaptation, but there is still a silver lining behind the new game’s announcement. While the franchise may be on a bit of a cold streak in recent years,Borderlands 4offers the perfect opportunity to get things back on track. Even though the audience was relatively split onBorderlands 3’s story, the game still had fantastic gameplay and its reviews were hardly awful, meaning there is still plenty of life left in the looter shooter. Therefore, the low expectations could actually be a good thing.
If Gearbox is able to recapture the magic of some of the earlier games withBorderlands 4, it will almost certainly be a huge hit.
If Gearbox is able to recapture the magic of some of the earlier games withBorderlands 4, it will almost certainly be a huge hit. The announcement of the game could also be a huge relief for fans as it’s a chance to forget about 2024’sBorderlandsand hopefully gives them something to be excited about going forward, even if there are some reservations. With six years passing betweenBorderlands 3and4, now is a great chance to hit the reset button and focus on delivering a quality game, which is exactly what the franchise needs.
Borderlands
Based on the video game franchise, Borderlands is a sci-fi action-comedy film that follows Cate Blanchett as Lilith, a treasure hunter who returns to her home planet, Pandora, to find a tycoon’s missing daughter. Together with a group of unlikely allies, such as a soldier, a teenaged demolitions expert, a wise-cracking robot, and an eccentric scientist, the group will work together to save the girl - all while learning to deal with each other’s unyielding quirks.
