The ragtag group of misfits uniting for some common goal premise is arguably getting a bit played. Both the “Suicide Squad” and “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchises have employed this story set-up to largely profitable effect in the last decade. James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad” didn’t light up the box office because it was released during the pandemic. So, that, combined with a choppy production schedule riddled with public delays and lots of behind-the-scenes rumors, makes “Borderlands” potentially a tough sell both critically and commercially.
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What the video game adaptation has going for it is a built-in audience of gamers as well as a surprisingly impressive cast that includes Cate Blanchett, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Jamie Lee Curtis. Additionally, with Eli Roth at the helm as writer, director, and producer—who has seen recent success with his B-movie Halloween hit “Thanksgiving“—perhaps “Borderlands” has the potential to go the way of recent successes “Super Mario Brothers” and “Uncharted” and less the way of poorly received “Mortal Kombat” and “House of the Dead.” (The latter being a deep dive. But bad stays bad in this particular case.)
Based on the best-selling video game franchise, “Borderlands” tells the story of a bounty hunter on a quest to find a missing girl who holds the key to some supernatural power. She assembles a band of mercenaries and rejects to help in her mission.
Here’s the official synopsis:
Lilith (Blanchett), an infamous bounty hunter with a mysterious past, reluctantly returns to her home, Pandora, the most chaotic planet in the galaxy. Her mission is to find the missing daughter of Atlas (Ramírez), the universe’s most powerful S.O.B. Lilith forms an unexpected alliance with a ragtag team of misfits – Roland (Hart), a seasoned mercenary on a mission; Tiny Tina (Greenblatt), a feral pre-teen demolitionist; Krieg (Munteanu), Tina’s musclebound protector; Tannis (Curtis), the oddball scientist who’s seen it all; and Claptrap (Black), a wiseass robot. Together, these unlikely heroes must battle an alien species and dangerous bandits to uncover one of Pandora’s most explosive secrets. The fate of the universe could be in their hands – but they’ll be fighting for something more: each other. Based on one of the best-selling videogame franchises of all time, welcome to BORDERLANDS.
“Borderlands” is written by Eli Roth and Joe Crombie. Lionsgate will release it on August 9. Watch the new trailer below.