Borderlands- Eli Roth Was An Odd Choice For A PG-13 Version

Quick Take: A lot has already been said about Lionsgate’s expensive foray into adapting Borderlands for the big screen. Not enough is being said about Lionsgate likely being the reason for the problem. Borderlands is a fun game, and it does have a story, which you advance through with the help of the most obnoxious sidekick in Claptrap. You can also team up with friends in the franchise, and run missions together. I’ve long wanted a Left 4 Dead movie, especially with how many excellent horror directors there are out there. But, when Lionsgate asks Eli Roth to make a PG-13 Borderlands, which is a Mature rated game, a flare should have shot up. The kind of flare that says “this is why we don’t have a Grand Theft Auto movie.”

You either have the chutzpah to make a proper Borderlands, or you fund a megaflop. There are only two options. When backed into a tame PG-13 runtime, and some sanitized runtime for mass consumption, Eli Roth was always going to fail. The question is, how big, and how bad? In my opinion, not as bad as you would think. Sure, Blanchett is too old for her role, but you wouldn’t get it from her acting. She’s obviously having fun not worrying about awards consideration, and just blowing shit up and kicking ass. This is likely the same reason she (and Jack Black) worked with Roth before in The House With A Clock In Its Walls. But, the lessons learned from seeing if Roth can direct a family movie well, should have indicated that the guy who hosts Masters Of Horror, should be left to the freedom of an R rating. Given the scope of the fil, the cast, and the potential, wouldn’t George Miller have been a fun choice here? Still, I’d be very interested to see an R rated, longer cut from Roth, that feels more like the videogame.

The one thing critics have slammed is the cast, and we need to separate Jack Black out of that grouping, because he is excellent. He is super obnoxious as Claptrap, which is exactly what Claptrap is. Even when you think of the connotation when you usually hear the word “claptrap”, it really is never positive. It is always negative. So, Black is great at being really annoying. It is meant to be a compliment. However, with all the things he’s already voicing, perhaps another choice could have been made. Between Po, Bowser, and claptrap, he’s got enough significant voiceover work for a guy who always sounds like Jack Black (not to mention films like Shark Tale, with no franchises attached).

The audio description didn’t fail me. Lionsgate was the only one who made a series of early decisions, that led to Borderlands starting off with a deficiency. It just never caught up. For more, check out my video.