Borderlands Film Faces Box Office Challenges

With its opening week underway, the Borderlands movie has continued to receive unfavorable reviews from leading critics on a major film review site, and a staff member has recently disclosed that he was uncredited for his work.

Borderlands Movie Faces Difficult Opening WeekFilm Staff Member Says He Wasn't Credited

The Borderlands movie adaptation directed by Eli Roth has faced a difficult premiere week, with initial reviews overwhelmingly negative. On Rotten Tomatoes, a major film review aggregator, the movie currently holds a 6% rating based on 49 critic reviews. Top critics were unimpressed, with Donald Clarke from the Irish Times suggesting viewers might want to "imagine an X button" to escape the film’s "nonsense," while Amy Nicholson from the New York Times noted that while some design aspects are praiseworthy, the humor largely fails.

When the social media embargo lifted earlier this week, early viewers and critics shared largely negative opinions, describing the film as "lifeless," "terrible," and "uninspired." Despite the harsh criticism, some Borderlands fans and moviegoers appreciated the movie's action-packed style. Currently, the film has a more favorable audience score of 49% on Rotten Tomatoes. "Not gonna lie, I was a hater when I saw the cast. I went into it with low expectations, but I truly loved it," one user noted. Another fan also enjoyed the film’s explosive action and crude humor, but 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 problems extend beyond poor reviews. A controversy arose involving a member of the film’s production crew. Robbie Reid, a freelance rigger who worked on the character "Claptrap," recently revealed on Twitter (X) that neither he nor the artist who modeled the character received film credit.

"Up until this point I've been exceptionally fortunate to have received credit for every film I've worked on." Reid then expressed 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." He suggested the credit omission might be due to him and the artist leaving their studio in 2021, and added that this oversight is unfortunately common in the industry.

"My disappointment lies with the overall industry and how it treats/credits artists. It's a long-standing problem, and I'm sad to see it's still prevalent based on replies. But I'm heartened by the support shown, and I hope it can lead to positive change for our industry," Reid concluded.