Somehow, the video game movie curse returned, as Borderlands debuts to a 0% score on Rotten Tomatoes

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The movie isn't a hit with critics

Borderlands
(Image credit: Lionsgate)

Borderlands may have singlehandedly brought back the video game adaptation curse. While TV shows like The Last of Us and Fallout and movies like Sonic the Hedgehog and The Super Mario Bros. Movie have been well-received by audiences and critics alike, it seems like the same can't be said for Borderlands.

Based on the video game series of the same name and directed by Thanksgiving helmer Eli Roth, the film follows outlaw Lilith (Cate Blanchett), who leads a ragtag team of misfits on a mission to rescue a missing girl. The cast also includes Jack Black, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Hart, and Ariana Greenblatt. Ahead of its theatrical release, though, the movie currently only has a score of 0% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on reviews from 23 critics.

"Is Borderlands the worst film of the year? It’s definitely in contention – so laughably bad, in fact, that it feels like being catapulted back to a time when video game adaptations were a byword for mediocrity," says The Evening Standard's Vicky Jessop.

"It’s dragged us back to a time when studios used to make these with all the grace and acuity of a drunk person attempting to place a 3am chicken nugget order," echoes The Independent's Clarisse Loughrey.

"In her chameleonic career, Cate Blanchett has donned many guises – but never before has she had the chance to be a gun-toting, ass-kicking action star. Sadly, Borderlands is an unworthy vehicle for her swaggering performance," writes Screen Daily's Tim Grierson.

"Since the characters remain one-dimensional -- not much more than cartoonish gamer avatars – we’re never terribly invested in their survival, or their quest to get to the vault first," says The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney.

Borderlands hits theaters on August 9. For more, check out our guide to the rest of this year's biggest movie release dates at a glance. 

Emily Garbutt
Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism.