Borderlands Movie's Poor Reviews Aren't Its Only Problems

The Borderlands movie, now 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 movie adaptation is experiencing a difficult premiere, with overwhelmingly negative critical reception. Rotten Tomatoes currently shows a dismal 6% rating based on 49 critic reviews. Leading critics haven't pulled any punches; Donald Clarke of the Irish Times suggested viewers might want to "imagine hitting an X button" to escape the film's "nonsense," while Amy Nicholson of the New York Times, while praising some design aspects, found the humor largely lacking.

Initial reactions from early viewers and critics, following the recent social media embargo lift, echoed the negativity, describing the film as "lifeless," "terrible," and "uninspired." However, a segment of Borderlands fans and general moviegoers appear to have enjoyed the film's action-packed style and boisterous tone. The audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is a slightly more favorable 49%. One user admitted initial skepticism about the cast but ultimately enjoyed the film, while another praised the action and humor, although noting some potentially confusing lore changes.

Beyond the scathing reviews, a crediting controversy has emerged. Robbie Reid, a freelance rigger who worked on the character Claptrap, publicly stated on Twitter (X) that neither he nor the character's modeler received screen credit. Reid expressed disappointment, highlighting that this was the first time in his career he's been uncredited, especially for such a prominent character. He speculated that the omission might be due to him and the artist leaving their studio in 2021, noting that such oversights are unfortunately common in the industry. He concluded by expressing hope that this situation might lead to positive change regarding artist crediting practices.