20 Video Game Movie and TV Moments That INSULTED Fans

The Borderlands games have always been ripe pickings cinematically, as they manage to seamlessly pair strong characters, witty dialogue, bold visuals, grand adventures, genuine tragedy and expansive worldbuilding. How, then, with thirteen years of planning, a stacked cast, a $120 million budget and Marvel’s Avi Arad producing, did the film adaptation go so wrong? Ask Eli Roth.

Borderlands assembles Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Jamie Lee Curtis as franchise regulars Lilith, Roland, Claptrap and Tannis, to go on an interplanetary mission through the borderlands in order to track down Atlas Corp head Deukalian Atlas’ (Edgar Ramirez) missing daughter Tina (Ariana Greenblatt). And while this seems like a fair enough setup (despite it representing something more of a side-mission from the games, and trashing Tina’s backstory), it manages to fall far short of what fans expected.

The film looks pretty much exactly as you’d hope: the game’s aesthetics are retained, as bright and bold as ever, and yet despite this backdrop, the cast consistently feel like they’re doing am dram cosplay as their characters. And, given the calibre of the actors involved, the fact that it’s a trial to watch them has to be laid on one person’s shoulders: the director. Why Roth (whose biggest hit to date is still 2005 splatter flick Hostel) was chosen for this is anyone’s guess. But what we do know is he was inspired by his dog taking a crap.