As the Borderlands movie continues its premiere week, it faces ongoing challenges with poor reviews from top critics and a new controversy regarding uncredited work by a film staff member.
Borderlands Movie Faces Rocky Premiere Week
Film Staff Says He Wasn't Credited
The Borderlands movie, directed by Eli Roth, has encountered significant criticism during its premiere week. On Rotten Tomatoes, a leading platform for film reviews, the movie has garnered a dismal 6% rating from 49 critic reviews. Top critics have been particularly harsh, with Donald Clarke from the Irish Times suggesting that fans might want to "hammer an imagined X button" to escape the film's "wacko BS." Similarly, Amy Nicholson from the New York Times praised some design elements but criticized the film's humor as largely ineffective.
Following the lifting of the social media embargo, early viewers and critics echoed these sentiments, describing the film as "lifeless," "terrible," and "uninspired." Despite the widespread criticism, a portion of Borderlands fans and general audiences have found the movie's loud and action-packed style appealing. The film currently holds a more favorable audience score of 49% on Rotten Tomatoes. One viewer shared, "Not gonna lie, I was a hater when I saw the cast. I went into it with low expectations, but I truly loved it." Another fan appreciated the film's explosive action and crude humor, though they noted that "some of the lore changes could leave people puzzled. Personally, I didn't mind too much as it made for a more compelling storyline for the film."
However, the Borderlands movie's issues extend beyond negative reviews. A controversy has emerged involving Robbie Reid, a freelance rigger who worked on the character "Claptrap." Reid took to Twitter (X) to reveal that neither he nor the artist who modeled the character were credited in the film.
"Up until this point, I've been exceptionally lucky to have received a credit for every film I've worked on," Reid stated. He expressed his disappointment, saying, "It just stings that the one to finally break the streak was the last film I worked on at a studio. And for such a significant character too." Reid suggested that the lack of credits might be due to their departure from the studio in 2021 and highlighted that such oversights are unfortunately common in the film industry.
"My disappointment lies with the general industry and how it treats/credits artists. It's a long on-going problem, and I'm sad to see it's still widespread based on replies. But I'm heartened by the support shown, and I hope it can lead to change for our industry," Reid concluded.
