Last year gamers were spoiled for content on TV and in the cinema; at last, we got some good adaptations of our favorite titles, such as the Last of Us and Super Mario Bros., proving that it is possible to translate a game to the screen. In fact, we’ve had a pretty good run for five years or so with Pokémon and Sonic movies too, but can we safely say the video game to movie curse is broken? Well the next movie to put that to the test would be Borderlands, and let’s just say it’s received a lukewarm reception so far.
I don’t want to be a negative Nancy — actually, yes I do, I love complaining about things of minor importance, and nobody can stop me. Anyways, I’m judging this entire movie based on the trailer alone, and it’s giving a real Guardians of the Galaxy vibe; they’ve got the whole dysfunctional family trope, and as many one liners and witty quips as they could possibly fit into 2 minutes and 30 seconds. To top it all off, we’ve got an Electric Light Orchestra song playing over the whole thing. Look, I’m not saying James Gunn is the only guy who can put an ELO song in his film (or trailer), I’m just saying Borderlands already close to the edge and that just tips it over, it’s like the film’s advertisers want it to be known as the GOTG knock-off movie. Also, the correct and only song to use for Borderlands trailer is “Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked,” by Cage the Elephant.
Is that a compliment or not?
OK so let’s be fair to the creatives behind Borderlands, if you’re gonna ape another movie’s identity, the Guardians is a great one to pick. Everybody loves those films, myself included, so even if it only ends up half as good, you’ve still got an alright movie on your hands. But then again, who wants to watch an inferior version of a movie you already enjoyed years ago? Watching the trailer didn’t get me excited for this movie, it just made me want to do a Guardians marathon.
On top of that, Borderlands hasn’t exactly been relevant for a while; the last game in the main series was released 5 years ago, and the latest spin off: New Tales from the Borderlands, wasn’t exactly memorable. The long wait is probably to do with the fact that the film got stuck in development hell forever. Principal photography finished in 2021, but it was first announced in 2015. None of this is encouraging to fans who want to see a quality adaptation of their favorite game. Also the trailer proudly proclaims it’s “from the producer of Uncharted, Spider-Man and Venom,” which literally makes my blood run cold; that’s really not the flex they think it is, (at least they were smart enough to omit Morbius.)
Maybe I’m being a little harsh, it’s just the trailer after all, it might not reflect the final product (even though that is the literal point of a trailer.) Maybe it will be more original than we think and I’m just a hater, we’ll just have to wait and see what Borderlands can bring to the table when it finally releases.