A team of VFX artists is ripping theBorderlandsmovie apart. The adaptation of the hit video game franchise,Borderlandsfeatured an all-star cast. Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Jamie Lee Curtis, Florian Munteanu, and numerous other stars signed on, but none were enough to save it. Despite having a budget of over $110 million, it earned just $30 million at the box office. According to sources, international pre-sales covered a significant portion of the budget, but the total was undoubtedly still disappointing for a franchise with so much potential.
TheCorridor Crew, a VFX team with a strong presence on YouTube, believes that the failure is largely attributable to visual issues. In the latest iteration of their “VFX Artists React to Bad & Great CGi” series, they tackled the painful issues with this adaptation. In particular,they identified the bar scene and the sniper attack as visually problematic. While mocking the muzzle flashing issues and the lack of blood, producer Sam Gorski identified the lack of attention-to-detail when it came to the gunfire:
This is a rated M game, whereit’s gun porn.You are sexualizing these guns, because they’re so beefy and sexy. Three barrels, they’re spinning. This gun, the more you spin it, the faster it shoots. This one starts guys on fire. This one does crazy acid stuff! Like, each time you pick up a gun, you’re like ‘oh yes, this is sick’. And the reason it’s sick is because each time you pull the trigger, crazy stuff happens, and you have fun with it. Andthis movie somehow forgot that that is what happens in the game, and that is what the player experience is.
What The VFX Issues Meant For Borderlands
It Explains Some Portion Of Its Box Office Failure
The adaptationfaced extreme issues with poor word-of-mouth and reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it earned a 10% Tomatometer score and a 55% audience-led Popcornmeter score.Critics did specifically cite the CGIas being a major reason for their disdain, but they also tackled the overabundance of trope-driven narratives and the complete lack of connection between the characters. Instead of thrilling viewers,many ofBorderlands' reviewerswere simply bored by a movie that should have been incomparably thrilling.
TheBorderlandsmovie was rated PG-13, while the games were rated M for Mature.
Borderlandsdisappointed at the box officebecause it failed to satisfy anyone, and the VFX issues were a major part of that. The Corridor Crew believed that the movie was “muting” the source material by avoiding bloodshed, color, and even the impact of bullets. One member referred to the bullet marks as nothing but “cheerios.” Another explained that the villains were “not even dying” but instead simply falling over. While they admitted that “you don’t want it to be super gory, super bloody,” they still believed thatthe movie lacked the environmental destruction it needed.
Our Take On Borderlands' VFX Issues
Borderlands Needed To Embrace Its Source Material
The VFX issues reflect the actual problem with the movie: It’s inability to embrace its source material. The game is a bloody fare that regularly includes extreme gore and horror. The movie, however, attempts to keep a fun atmosphere that younger viewers should still be able to enjoy.Attempting to appeal to everyone meant that it would appeal to no one. The lack of blood made the action scenes less realistic, taking away from their overall effect. HadBorderlandsembraced more than just the aesthetic of the games, it might have succeeded. Instead, it remains another failed video game adaptation.
Borderlands
Cast
Based on the video game franchise, Borderlands is a sci-fi action-comedy film that follows Cate Blanchett as Lilith, a treasure hunter who returns to her home planet, Pandora, to find a tycoon’s missing daughter. Together with a group of unlikely allies, such as a soldier, a teenaged demolitions expert, a wise-cracking robot, and an eccentric scientist, the group will work together to save the girl - all while learning to deal with each other’s unyielding quirks.
