New Borderlands Trailer Has Sci-Fi Monsters, Silly Robots, And A Pee Explosion

I can't believe I'm saying this, but "Borderlands" is actually, finally coming to theaters after wrapping principal photography all the way back in 2021. Directed by horror maestro Eli Roth, who co-wrote the screenplay with Joe Crombie, the film is based on the Gearbox Software video game of the same name. Between "Fallout" on Prime Video and "The Last of Us" on HBO, we're currently in a golden era of video game adaptations. Can "Borderlands" continue the trend?

The film stars Cate Blanchett as Lilith, an infamous outlaw who returns to her home planet of Pandora (not to be confused with that Pandora) to track down the missing daughter of Atlas (Edgar Ramírez), the most powerful man in the universe. Lilith links up with a ragtag group of unlikely heroes, including mercenary Roland (Kevin Hart), teenage demolitions expert Tiny Tina (Ariana Greenblatt) and her lunkhead muscle protector Krieg (Florian Munteanu), scientist Tannis who is slowly losing her sense of sanity (Jamie Lee Curtis), and a wiseass robot named Claptrap (Jack Black).

Together, this motley crew must take down alien monsters, bandits, and plenty of other sci-fi nonsense to save the universe. We were privy to an advanced look at the film when it previewed at CinemaCon 2024, and our own Ryan Scott said the pic looked an awful lot like a twisted take on "Guardians of the Galaxy." Based on the latest trailer, released today, he might have been onto something. Well, if "Guardians of the Galaxy" had anime cosplay wigs and the freedom for edgier dialogue scattered between action sequences.

The first trailer we saw for "Borderlands" looked like "Guardians of the Galaxy" meets "Mad Max," and the newest look seems to be more of the same. Kevin Hart is dropping one-liners, Ariana Greenblatt is evoking the same precocious energy as Hit-Girl from "Kick-Ass," and the action sequences look like ... every American-made action movie of the last 15 years. If there's one thing I am very excited about, it's that "Borderlands" is a vibrant world with eye-popping colors. Finally, a sweet release from muted tones and cold, millennial-era minimalism. However, if you're a die-hard fan of the games and looking for a 1:1 adaptation, you might be disappointed. All video game adaptations run the risk of being struck by the fandom curse, and Roth's casting decisions and stylistic choices have already disappointed some fans. Fortunately, if you're not all that familiar with the games, "Borderlands" looks like it has the potential to be some totally raucous fun.

There were plenty of naysayers when Peacock released the first look for the "Twisted Metal" series, and it ended up being a blast and a half. Granted, that show didn't have the limitations of a PG-13 rating, so it'll be interesting to see how such a blood-soaked and gory game will play out without being able to swing for the violent fences. It's also hard to shake the fact that "The Last of Us" and "Chernobyl" writer Craig Mazin was originally credited as a writer on the film but fought to have his name removed from the project. That means one of the initial biggest draws to the film no longer exists, and there's no telling how the story changed compared to Mazin's original vision. Alas, chaos loves company, and we'll have to see for ourselves what exactly this adventure has in store once the film is finally unleashed on the world.

"Borderlands" will hit theaters on August 9, 2024.