[Film] Borderlands

[Isgrimnur]

GT

Lionsgate has announced that it will be producing a Borderlands film under the leadership of father/son duo Avi and Ari Arad.

While there was no information as to whether the Borderlands movie would be based on a specific game or a new story entirely, Lionsgate says that its decision to adapt Borderlands for the big screen comes from its choosing to use established brands as a source for new films and TV shows in order to draw in their fanbase.

[Moliere]

I am playing Borderlands 2 right now. The auto-save feature is on the verge of making me uninstall the whole game. Really annoying to be given missions that take hours to complete and then you have to start over if you get interrupted and can't finish in one sitting. It seems like the movie would be very similar to the most recent Mad Max.

[Scuzz]

I am playing Borderlands 2 right now. The auto-save feature is on the verge of making me uninstall the whole game. Really annoying to be given missions that take hours to complete and then you have to start over if you get interrupted and can't finish in one sitting. It seems like the movie would be very similar to the most recent Mad Max.

I played 1 and 2 in co-play mode with my daughter. One didn't have as many or as long a missions without saves as 2 if I remember. But your right, that is annoying.

But I would be interested to see what they could do with a game like this. Part Mad Max, part Indiana Jones.

[Blackhawk]

More like Mel Brooks Presents: Thunderdome.

[GreenGoo]

I am playing Borderlands 2 right now. The auto-save feature is on the verge of making me uninstall the whole game. Really annoying to be given missions that take hours to complete and then you have to start over if you get interrupted and can't finish in one sitting. It seems like the movie would be very similar to the most recent Mad Max.

I played 1 and 2 in co-play mode with my daughter. One didn't have as many or as long a missions without saves as 2 if I remember. But your right, that is annoying.

But I would be interested to see what they could do with a game like this. Part Mad Max, part Indiana Jones.

I'm playing 2 right now and I'd agree. There are a number of places the missions are long and spread out across large maps that contain a LOT of mobs to shoot before they shoot you. If it's your first time through and you're exploring, it can take twice as long and then respawns can become an issue.

The save game approach is the same as in Diablo, and while I don't personally have an issue with it, I can see how long stretches can be a pain. Sure, there are waypoints that you respawn at if you die, but if you turn off the game, you're pushed all the way back to the nearest fast travel, which are a lot rarer and typically only available at the beginning of a zone. On the plus side you can use this to your advantage by logging out and logging back in, traveling large distances in seconds.

This is far more noticeable in II, it seems.

[GreenGoo]

I think Handsome Jack would make an ideal antagonist. He's got a lot of personality, he's funny, and he's evil as hell. Casting and writing him properly might be a challenge, especially for cheap, which I assume this movie is going to be.

After that they can do just whatever they want with the plot.

Borderlands doesn't jump out at me as an ip in desperate need of movie, but anyone with vision and the ability to pursue it (money, talent, drive) can make a good movie out of just about anything.

We'll see.

[Brian]

Casting and writing him properly might be a challenge, especially for cheap, which I assume this movie is going to be.

They should cast Dameon Clarke as Handsome Jack.

[Blackhawk]

I'm really not sure how Borderlands would work as a movie. What makes it unique is its comedy and absurdity. I'm not sure how you'd market a Mad Max comedy without it being a straight up parody.

[Blackhawk]

[Daehawk]

OMG. I need to change my pants! Is Handsome Jack in it?

[gilraen]

Doesn't look like it.

[Daehawk]

Jared Leto would be a good Handsome Jack. Margot Robbie a good Moxxie.

Cate is a little old'ish to play Lilith isn't she at this point? Why not let Karen Gillan play Lilith?

[hepcat]

How the hell did they trick Cate into this??? Then again, she does have a history of appearing in sci fi, horror and fantasy films.

[Blackhawk]

It's an original story based on Borderlands, not a retelling of the BL1 story.

Lilith, an infamous outlaw with a mysterious past, reluctantly returns to her home planet of Pandora to find the missing daughter of the universe's most powerful S.O.B., Atlas. Lilith forms an alliance with an unexpected team - Roland, a former elite mercenary, now desperate for redemption; Tiny Tina, a feral pre-teen demolitionist; Krieg, Tina's musclebound, rhetorically challenged protector; Tannis, the scientist with a tenuous grip on sanity; and Claptrap, a persistently wiseass robot. These unlikely heroes must battle alien monsters and dangerous bandits to find and protect the missing girl, who may hold the key to unimaginable power. The fate of the universe could be in their hands but they'll be fighting for something more: each other.

Jared Leto would be a good Handsome Jack. Margot Robbie a good Moxxie.

Margot Robbie is too young. Moxxi has two fully grown kids. Gina Gershon is playing her.

Cate Blanchett as Lilith
Kevin Hart as Roland
Jack Black as Claptrap
Jamie Lee Curtis as Dr. Patricia Tannis
Ariana Greenblatt as Tiny Tina
Florian Munteanu as Krieg
Gina Gershon as Mad Moxxi
Cheyenne Jackson as Jakobs
Charles Babalola as Hammerlock
Benjamin Byron Davis as Marcus
Steven Boyer as Scooter
Ryann Redmond as Ellie

[gilraen]

If they are calling Tina a pre-teen, then theoretically this takes place a couple of years before the events of BL2.

[Daehawk]

hmmmm Gina Gershon is awesome and all but Moxxi is known to be pretty busty. Gina is not. I guess pushup bras will fix that. Same way with Ryann Redmond playing Ellie...they will have to add a lot of cushion to her. Or cgi.

Ya guess Margot is too young. I forget Scooter and Ellie are Moxxi's kids. She looks young in game.

[Blackhawk]

They're also saying that Lilith has a kid, that she's from Pandora, and that Krieg is Tina's protector. Sir Hammerlock is Black, and Knoxx is a woman.

Randy Pitchford (the guy who runs Gearbox) has said outright that it's its own continuity, and that it doesn't follow the games canon, not will the games follow the movie's canon.

[Blackhawk]

hmmmm Gina Gershon is awesome and all but Moxxi is known to be pretty busty. Gina is not. I guess pushup bras will fix that. Same way with Ryann Redmond playing Ellie...they will have to add a lot of cushion to her. Or cgi.

Ya guess Margot is too young. I forget Scooter and Ellie are Moxxi's kids. She looks young in game.

I haven't seen her in anything in the last quarter century, but some quick googling suggests that she's more than 'busty' enough. It's rather more important that she be able to play the role.



As to young, how can you tell? She wears massive amounts of thick white makeup. She's halfway to mime territory.

[Zarathud]

My kids will watch this just for Tiny Tina and Claptrap.

I have no problem with tweaking the story to get the characters together, if the spirit of the game comes through. The video game has a different story structure from a movie, and needs to bring in more than the fanboys.

[Daehawk]

They're also saying that Lilith has a kid, that she's from Pandora, and that Krieg is Tina's protector. Sir Hammerlock is Black, and Knoxx is a woman.

Randy Pitchford (the guy who runs Gearbox) has said outright that it's its own continuity, and that it doesn't follow the games canon, not will the games follow the movie's canon.

So you're saying they are making Tiny Tina into Lilith and Krieg's kid? Kool. Sir Hammerlock has always been black. And Knoxx as a woman is because she's General Knoxx's daughter.

[Scraper]

Kevin Hart as Roland is terrible casting. The only way I would cast him as Roland is if literally ever other Black actor turned down the role (and yes I'm including Jaleel White in that list of Every other actor).

[TheMix]

hmmmm Gina Gershon is awesome and all but Moxxi is known to be pretty busty. Gina is not.

I... Wha... Wait... Huh...

Your complaint about Gina is that she's not busty enough, but you thought Margot fit the bill? You need to step away from the drugs...

[TheMix]

Kevin Hart as Roland is terrible casting. The only way I would cast him as Roland is if literally ever other Black actor turned down the role (and yes I'm including Jaleel White in that list of Every other actor).

Don't disagree. He doesn't have the look at all. Additionally, Roland is the straight man. He's not supposed to be comic relief. But they cast a comedian?

[Scraper]

Kevin Hart as Roland is terrible casting. The only way I would cast him as Roland is if literally ever other Black actor turned down the role (and yes I'm including Jaleel White in that list of Every other actor).

Don't disagree. He doesn't have the look at all. Additionally, Roland is the straight man. He's not supposed to be comic relief. But they cast a comedian?

All of those things, plus he's supposed to be at least 6 foot tall and Hart is barely 5.

[TheMix]

Kevin Hart as Roland is terrible casting. The only way I would cast him as Roland is if literally ever other Black actor turned down the role (and yes I'm including Jaleel White in that list of Every other actor).

Don't disagree. He doesn't have the look at all. Additionally, Roland is the straight man. He's not supposed to be comic relief. But they cast a comedian?

All of those things, plus he's supposed to be at least 6 foot tall and Hart is barely 5.

I was covering that in the "doesn't have the look" comment. I was trying not to be blatant about it. I mean, Tom Cruise kind of pulled of Reacher. Until we got a real one.

[TheMix]

They'll have to pull a Stallone and put him on a box for every scene he's in with Lilith.

[Daehawk]

Well I was excited about this in the beginning. But the more I think about it Im worried its gonna be a big old fail.

[Blackhawk]

(Roland was 5'11")

Keaton taught me to stop worrying about height as a factor in roles.

[Blackhawk]

Well I was excited about this in the beginning. But the more I think about it Im worried its gonna be a big old fail.

It's Borderlands. It's going to disappoint most fans for superficial reasons that have nothing to do with whether it's a good movie, and it's going to be really, really tough to market to non-fans, as it doesn't fall into a neat genre (it's a video game based action/comedy (both absurdist and satire)/post-apocalyptic/sci-fi romp with a bit of western mixed in.)

Good or bad, it's in a tough spot.

[TheMix]

(Roland was 5'11")

Keaton taught me to stop worrying about height as a factor in roles.

It's not the height per se. It's that Roland should be taller than Lilith. It's going to be nagging at the back of my mind every time they are in a scene and she's 7 inches taller than him. More if they put her in heels.

[Blackhawk]

I don't disagree that Roland should have been taller. He has an imposing personality, and it's going to be hard to show that with Hart. I just don't think it's an automatic deal killer.

[hepcat]

What about their bust sizes? Neither actor seems all that chesty.

[Blackhawk]

Jack Black is a bit busty...

[Blackhawk]

In any case, here's the full trailer:

[Daehawk]

Ok that trailer made me smile. And Moxxi looks right after all. Even Krieg looks right. Might actually be a blast after all.

[hepcat]

Jack Black is a bit busty...

Suddenly, Daehawk is more confident in the movie's success. As long as they give him busty guys and gals, he's in on day one!

[Blackhawk]

FWIW, I expect to be disappointed. This is a really hard property to translate into a live action film (they'd have been better off with the crew who did Arcane!), but I have 1600+ hours in the franchise, so I'm still following.

Trailer thoughts:

0:39 - a skag and a rakk. Hopefully not the only appearances of something so iconic.

Huh, they have Mouthpiece (0:43). Strange choice.

Lilith seems to be using an Infinity pistol.

Marcus and a Marcus Munitions vending machine at 1:15.

I'm not sure if they're the same hover vehicles they showed earlier, but those look like Stingrays at 1:18.

The Crimson Lance troops don't impress. They'd barely require corrosive! At least they're using Atlas weapons.

Another vending machine at 1:45. Legendary SMG for sale - hopefully Lilith will upgrade that Infinity...

Not impressed with the portrayal of Tina. She doesn't have the same panache.

Firehawk symbol at 2:08. First though, wow. Second thought... it's fireworks?

Moxxi at 2:15

At 2:15 we seem to see a phase walk.

2:18 we see the teased thresher.

And at 2:29 we see a typical trailer spoiler.

Overall: They have the over-the-top feel. They seem to have locked onto the later Gearbox bodily fluid jokes a bit too much. They seem to be trying to channel Suicide Squad. They also seem to be leaning heavily into references for the fans. Krieg seems spot-on, at least physically. Tanis is great (interesting that she still seems to be working for Dahl), and even though we only caught glimpses, Marcus and Moxxi both seem fine. Jack Black is less bothersome than I feared as Claptrap. As for the rest... I'm not a fan.

Prediction: It'll be hammered by the critics, and end up somewhere between 30-60 on the ratings. Fans will hate it because there are things that are different from the game. I'll enjoy it, but it will end up being forgettable.

[TheMix]

I want to like.

But... oof. Hart was a distraction. Every time he opened his mouth. Roland may have occasionally been humorous, but it was always accidental. Hart gives off a completely different vibe. Maybe I can pretend he's a different Roland...

I also agree that something feels slightly off about Tina. Just not the same feel.

[coopasonic]

My 17yo is a big Borderlands fan. If, by the time it arrives, he wants to see it with his dad, his dad will go. Without his interest, I doubt I have any interest.

[Carpet_pissr]

Bad omens if it’s anything like the Roland translation from Stephen King’s The Dark Tower (both novel and Marvel comics) into the disaster of a movie it turned out to be.