Borderlands Premieres with Surprisingly Low Rotten Tomatoes Score

Director Eli Roth’s newest film, Borderlands, has encountered harsh criticism ahead of its release, resulting in a startlingly low score on Rotten Tomatoes.

This star-studded movie is an adaptation of the popular video game and follows bounty hunter Lilith, portrayed by two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett. Lilith teams up with an eclectic group of misfits to find a missing girl on her home planet. The cast also includes big names like Jamie Lee Curtis, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Gina Gershon, and Ariana Greenblatt.

Before its scheduled release in theaters on August 9, Borderlands has scored a mere four percent on Rotten Tomatoes. This score reflects the percentage of professional critical reviews that are positive.

Early reviews have been scathing. Clarisse Loughrey from The Independent described the movie as “a total disaster,” citing the “wildly miscast actors and an impenetrable script” that alienate fans of the game and confuse casual viewers. She warned gamers that the film “may strike terror into your heart.”

Dan Jolin from Empire called it a “botched Guardians of the Galaxy wannabe” in his two-star review, highlighting its sloppy assembly and the evident post-production issues caused by too many contributors.

Peter Debruge of Variety concurred, writing that the film could easily be mistaken for a generic Guardians of the Galaxy knockoff where the unruly ensemble wields guns instead of superpowers.

Alison Foreman from IndieWire described Borderlands as “a maddening self-contradiction” that is messy yet too neat, offering too much while also feeling insufficient.

The Telegraph’s Tim Robey noted that the movie delivers “snatches of crude enjoyment” if one has basement-level expectations and can overlook some grim third-act CGI.

David Rooney from The Hollywood Reporter summed it up as a “stale and stubbornly unexciting sci-fi action comedy.” He speculated that ardent fans of the video game might get more out of Borderlands but advised not to count on it.

Borderlands marks one of Roth’s first forays into comedy. The director is better known for his low-budget horror films such as Thanksgiving (2023), Knock Knock (2015), and Hostel (2005).

According to Variety, the production of Borderlands is estimated to have cost approximately $115 million, with marketing and distribution efforts costing around $30 million. An insider revealed that nearly 60 percent of its production costs were covered by international ticket presales as of August 7.

Borderlands is set to be released in theaters this Friday, August 9.

Source: The Independent, Empire, Variety, IndieWire, The Telegraph, The Hollywood Reporter