Borderlands Failed Because It Refused to Properly Adapt the Video Games

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Borderlands Failed Because It Refused to Properly Adapt the Video Games

Summary

  • The
    Borderlands
    movie deviates from the source material, causing fan disappointment.
  • Director Eli Roth made substantial changes to the characters and plot of the game series.
  • Video game adaptations making significant changes risk alienating fans, which can also lead to a box office disaster.

As someone who has spent countless hours immersed in the vibrant, chaotic world of Borderlands, I can’t help but feel a pang of disappointment when I see the big-screen adaptation straying so far from the source material. It’s like inviting your closest friends over for dinner and serving them something completely unexpected and unfamiliar.

It’s clear now that Lionsgate’s release of Borderlands has turned into an unprecedented catastrophe. From the get-go, the initial responses pointed towards a lackluster film, criticizing it for being lifeless, uninteresting, and yet another failed attempt to adapt a video game. The movie’s poor reception was confirmed by its 9% rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and things didn’t improve much during its opening weekend.

In a budget range of $115-$120 million, the movie ‘Borderlands’ only managed an initial box office take of $8.6 million, suggesting it may struggle to reach the $20 million mark domestically. The reasons for its underperformance are widely debated, but one consistent issue is that the film strays too far from the original video game source material. This departure has been a problem for many video game adaptations, even those that have financial success. It’s puzzling why these films often deviate so significantly from their games, which usually have robust mythologies, as altering them too much can upset fans.

Borderlands Is a Beloved Video Game with a Sizable Fan Base

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Back in 2009, the video game titled “Borderlands” hit the market. This masterpiece was carefully crafted by Gearbox Software. It’s a unique blend of action-packed role-playing and first-person shooting, where you guide a team of four characters known as Vault Hunters. Their mission? To traverse the alien world of Pandora in search of a fabled location brimming with advanced extraterrestrial technology – “The Vault.”

In the gameplay of Borderlands, players collect assorted hints to locate the Vault, yet their path is fraught with challenges, like rival bandits dwelling on the planet. To triumph, players collaborate to thwart the Atlas Corporation from reaching the Vault ahead of them. This series has produced a total of seven games and sold 77 million copies collectively, amassing over $1 billion in earnings. As a result, the Borderlands franchise is among the most successful video game series ever made.

Eli Roth Had No Intention of Making a Straight Adaptation of the Video Game

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The success of the popular video game series might lead one to assume an easy transition to film, but Eli Roth sought more than just a faithful adaptation, which is often problematic when such games are brought to the big screen. It’s plausible that Craig Mazin, known for his excellent TV adaptations of video games like The Last of Us, penned an original script that was significantly better, but the final product strayed so far from his original concept that he requested his name be removed from the project.

It’s evident from interviews before and after the movie release that Roth was primarily focused on utilizing the game’s structure as a foundation for his unique take on films like Mad Max, Escape From New York, or Star Wars. Roth’s response during a red-carpet interview with The Hollywood Reporter at the premiere gives us some insight into what might have led to the potential issues that arose in this project.

In his work, Roth aims to preserve the game’s distinctive appearance and atmosphere, yet he also intends to experiment with aspects like character development and narrative structure to produce an entertaining blockbuster film experience. Although the characters in the movie may resemble their video game counterparts, their roles within the story deviate substantially from the original source material to align with Roth’s intended narrative. While it’s acceptable to take creative liberties, the project strays from its fanbase when the story drifts too far from the inspirational material that originally shaped it.

In Roth’s film, a potential issue lies in the fact that characters from various games’ installments are used, leading to alterations of their origins and specific details to suit a new storyline that deviates significantly from a straightforward adaptation of the initial game. For example, the team of Vault Hunters depicted in the first game and film is distinctly different. Characters like Lilith (Cate Blanchett) and Roland (Kevin Hart), who appear in both the original game and movie, are present, but characters such as Mordecai and Brick, who were part of the team in the first game installment, are missing from the film adaptation.

In the initial “Borderlands” game, Tiny Tina (Ariana Greenblatt) doesn’t make an appearance, but she becomes a significant character in “Borderlands 2”. Given her growing fanbase, it seems reasonable to assume that her inclusion was strategic. In the game, Tiny Tina shares a connection with Brick, who isn’t part of the movie. Instead, in the film, Tiny Tina forms a bond with Krieg (Florian Munteanu). However, the motivations behind Krieg working with the Vault Hunters in the movie are different from what we see in the game.

In this scenario, modifications like these appear unnecessary, given that fans are deeply engrossed in these games. Any minor alterations, primarily due to Roth’s personal preference and lacking a substantial justification, could potentially disenchant them. A point of debate among the gamers is the age adjustments Roth introduced, particularly concerning the characters. In contrast to the game versions, the movie characters appear significantly older. For instance, Lilith is 22 in the games but portrayed by Blanchett, who is 55 and older than her game counterpart. Roland, who is 34 in the games, is played by Kevin Hart, a 45-year-old actor, while Tannis, originally in her 30s, is now embodied by Jamie Lee Curtis, who is 63. Tiny Tina’s age remains consistent with her character’s story, but it’s a crucial aspect that Roth likely felt needed minimal alteration.

Eli Roth Didn’t Make His Casting Choices Based on the Games

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Roth spoke about the criticism prior to the film’s premiere. While it’s valid to cast top-notch actors like Cate Blanchett, the age disparities between the characters in the movie and their video game counterparts are striking, making it seem as if they’re portraying completely different individuals, which introduces an unwarranted departure from the game. Roth maintains that these age discrepancies were unintentional and used the occasion to highlight ageism in Hollywood by stating, “I believe there’s a significant amount of ageism in Hollywood, and I understand why people raise this issue, but once again, the games are the games, and the movies are the movies, so there are certain choices that felt appropriate.” It’s worth noting that by making these changes, the director essentially admitted he wasn’t “focusing on the game.”

“It wasn’t about changing age.
I’m reading the script and I’m not thinking about the game
…I’m thinking about the movie. I’m not thinking ‘Oh, this person is a certain age in the game. Tiny Tina needs to be a certain age. But for everyone else, you’re talking about the best actor in the world. You go right to Cate Blanchett, and she said yes. So, once you have Cate Blanchett, I went to Jack Black to play Claptrap, Jamie Lee Curtis to play Tannis.”

Roth’s failure to consider the game is the core problem here, which can be a big slap in the face to the fans who have played and loved Borderlands. The changes disappoint fans as they already know what the characters are supposed to be like and have grown to love them, only to see them drastically changed in the big-screen format. Roth makes other narrative changes throughout the project that push it further from the source material, but this isn’t the first example of writers and directors taking liberties with video game stories.

Video Game Adaptations Have Ignored the Source Material Before

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Although Uncharted was financially successful thanks to Tom Holland’s appeal, it underwent significant transformations, particularly in the character of Nathan Drake. To cast Holland, the character was made younger for the movie, but he also received a new backstory and a less self-assured demeanor. The original Nathan Drake from the games was quite confident, bordering on cocky, but his film counterpart is more of an individual lost at sea, figuratively speaking, as he finds himself. This change might be effective for the movie’s new direction, but it has left fans questioning if it was essential. After all, modifications aimed at boosting ticket sales and box office success can also alienate video game enthusiasts by altering key aspects of their beloved characters.>

The primary reason “Borderlands” is considered a setback in video game adaptations is evident, given that productions like “The Last of Us” are being applauded for their faithful representation of the games, even capturing minute details. Over-altering the original work can make the adaptation feel disconnected from something cherished by fans. Maybe future attempts at adapting “Borderlines” will be more respectful of the source material, driven by a genuine passion rather than merely exploiting it for creative purposes. As for now, “Borderlands” is currently playing in theaters.

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2024-08-17 02:32