Borderlands’ Dismal Rotten Tomatoes Shouldn’t Be A Surprise After Brutal 13-Year Trend

Summary

• Borderlands
  ‘ Rotten Tomatoes score shouldn’t shock anyone given director Eli Roth’s history with critics.
• The movie mixes sci-fi, action, and comedy, featuring Cate Blanchett leading a ragtag crew.
• Despite its popularity as a video game,
  Borderlands
  flopped at the box office due to its predictable plot.

Although Borderlands might have a disastrous Rotten Tomatoes score, this shouldn’t come as a surprise thanks to director Eli Roth’s history with critics. Borderlands is an adaptation of the video game franchise of the same name. A blend of sci-fi, action, and comedy, Borderlands sees Cate Blanchett’s outlaw Lilith cobble together a mismatched crew to track down and later save Deukalian Atlas’ daughter Tiny Tina. This set of misfits includes Jack Black’s Claptrap, Kevin Hart’s Roland, and Florian Munteanu’s hulking ‘Psycho’ Krieg. By Borderlands’ ending, this unlikely, dysfunctional gang ends up working together to save the universe from Atlas.

If this plot sounds derivative, that might go some way to explaining Borderlands’ awful box office debut. Despite a budget of over $110 million, Borderlands made less than $10 million in its opening weekend. While the movie’s financial underperformance was nothing short of disastrous, this wasn’t its most notable failure. The game adaptation also earned almost universally terrible viewers, with numerous critics calling Borderlands the worst movie of 2024. While this critical performance was awful, it shouldn’t come as a big surprise given the movie’s creator. Borderlands came from a director famous for many earlier critical disappointments.

Borderlands’ 9% Rotten Tomatoes Score Fits Most Of Eli Roth’s Career

None Of Roth’s Five Movies From 2005 Until 2018 Were Certified Fresh

After a career-best streak of two successful movies in a row, Eli Roth is back to disappointing critics with Borderlands. The divisive director’s 2023 slasher Thanksgiving earned a career-high Rotten Tomatoes rating of 84%, while his 2018 family horror-comedy The House With the Clock In Its Walls earned 65%. This second figure might not sound too impressive, but it is vital to note that the majority of Roth’s movies are critical failures. After his 2002 debut Cabin Fever earned a passable 62%, Roth spent 13 years making five movies that were all certified rotten according to the critical aggregator.

Roth’s Hostel, Hostel Part II, The Green Inferno, Knock Knock, and Death Wish all failed to earn a critical rating of over 50%, with the latter gaining a mere 18% from critics. Roth’s cold streak comprises the majority of his screen career, so it is no surprise that the director has returned to disappointing viewers and critics with Borderlands. Roth’s next movie might redeem Borderlands’ Rotten Tomatoes score since Thanksgiving 2 is likely to give Roth his highest score yet, judging by the original movie’s 84% rating. However, Roth’s 2023 slasher Thanksgiving had its problems, so the sequel may still fail.

Why Most Of Eli Roth’s Movies Get “Rotten” Scores On Rotten Tomatoes

Roth’s Movies Proved Divisive Due To Thin Characters and Predictable Plots

A look at critical assessments of Roth’s career uncovers a handful of recurring problems that can be seen in everything from Hostel to Borderlands. Most of Roth’s movies are criticized for their thin characters who lack believability or likability, their predictable, formulaic storylines, and their drab visual aesthetic. Some, such as Knock Knock and Hostel, were criticized for wasting premises that had potential. Others, like The Green Inferno, were disliked due to their reliance on outdated stereotypes. With its lack of visual invention, rote plotting, and annoying characters, Borderlands is a perfect encapsulation of Roth’s career as a whole.