Critics Pan 'Borderlands' Film Despite Hype

The Borderlands movie, currently in its premiere week, is facing a barrage of negative reviews from prominent film critics, adding to its woes with a recent uncredited staff member controversy.

Borderlands Movie Premiere Week: A Rough Start

Uncredited Staff Member Speaks Out

Eli Roth's Borderlands film adaptation is experiencing a difficult premiere, plagued by overwhelmingly negative initial reviews. Rotten Tomatoes, a leading film review aggregator, currently shows a dismal 6% rating based on 49 critic reviews. Criticism has been scathing, with Donald Clarke of the Irish Times suggesting viewers might "hammer an imagined X button" to escape the film's perceived flaws, while Amy Nicholson of the New York Times acknowledged some positive design aspects but criticized the humor's failure to connect.

Early social media reactions, following the recent lifting of the embargo, echoed the negative sentiment, with descriptions like "lifeless," "terrible," and "uninspired" frequently appearing. However, a segment of Borderlands fans and general moviegoers seem to appreciate the film's action-packed nature and crude humor. Rotten Tomatoes reflects this division, with a more positive audience score of 49%. One user commented, "I went in with low expectations, but I truly loved it," highlighting the contrast in opinions. Another fan praised the action and humor, but noted that "some of the lore changes could leave people puzzled."

Beyond the poor reviews, a controversy has emerged regarding uncredited staff. Robbie Reid, a freelance rigger who worked on the character Claptrap, revealed on Twitter (X) that neither he nor the character's modeler received screen credit. Reid expressed disappointment, stating, "It just stings that the one to finally break the streak was the last film I worked on at a studio. And for such a significant character too." He speculated that the omission might stem from him and the artist leaving their studio in 2021, acknowledging that such oversights are unfortunately common in the industry. He concluded by expressing hope that the situation might lead to positive industry change regarding artist crediting.