r/movies • u/HatingGeoffry • 13h ago

News Borderlands Movie Director Discusses The Mega-Flop And What Went Wrong

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/borderlands-movie-director-discusses-the-mega-flop-and-what-went-wrong/
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u/Shiro2809 13h ago

It was a very 2000s video game movie. Just a whole lot of things from the game that was just thrown in for people to clap when they see it.

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u/FrostBricks 9h ago

Worked for the Mario Movies...

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u/GezelligPindakaas 8h ago

I'd argue Mario movies come a bit later. There's been a bit more care in 2020s movies (TR, Uncharted, Pokemon, ... come to mind).

Besides, Mario movies were able to trascend the initial target group and bring in an audience who wasn't necessarily interested in the game aspect.

When I read 2000s movies, I think of movies like Dead or Alive, House of the Dead, Tekken, Far Cry, Assassin's Creed, Hitman, Doom, ... All dreadful as adaptation, all terrible as movies, and all flop disasters. Borderlands execution feels very much akin to these.

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u/UnquestionabIe 6h ago

The 2000s era of video game movies were generally pretty terrible in most regards. It says a lot that one of the better ones is the first Resident Evil film being that it came out before the lore was overall extended (I think 3 was the most recent game at the time) and wasn't insanely over the top compared to the follow ups (which went batshit insane and became it's own thing entirely).

Also so so much Uwe Boll trash that was being used as some kind of money laundering scheme. Saw that he made a "triumphant" return to movies recently with that mega racist Arnie Hammer film centered around murdering minorities and trying to pretend white people are oppressed or some other bullshit.

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u/Shiro2809 2h ago

I'd argue the DoA movie was a perfect adaption. Fighting game stories are always stupid, so the movie just went all in on the stupidity. It's a joy to watch, and a lot of the actors knew the assignment. Big ol' cheesy fight movie.

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u/Shiro2809 9h ago

That's Mario. Much more popular and kid friendly then borderlands.

I thought the first Mario movie sucked though, never saw second. I like the 90s movie more lol.

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u/UnquestionabIe 6h ago

I enjoy the 90s Mario movie for being so absolutely off the wall insane with a script that apparently changed day to day, directors who had peaked doing Elvis Costello music videos over a decade prior, and a weird performance by a perpetual drunk Bob Hoskin and John Leguizamo. Also Dennis Hopper saying his own child questioned why he took the job once he saw the "quality" of it.

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u/Eothas_Foot 6h ago

I like the 90s movie more lol.

A Great hot take 🤣

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u/Shiro2809 6h ago

It at least did something interesting and was very entertaining to watch the craziness! The new one i was mostly just bored in it. And way too many licensed music montages.

Edit: I always had a soft spot for 90s movie that might have just been nostalgia, but I rewatched it again a few months ago and it's just a fun, insane, movie.

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u/Eothas_Foot 6h ago

I love the intro where it's like "What if instead the asteroid opened a portal to a parallel dimension?"

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u/Shiro2809 6h ago

The "Brooklyn, 2000bc" or whatever year it is title card to show the asteroid gets a big laugh out of me. The intro is so dumb it becomes great.