The movie Borderlands opened with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 0%.
Rotten Tomatoes collects reviews from film critics on films, determines whether these were predominantly positive or negative and gives them the rating “fresh” or “rotten tomato” accordingly.
At the time of writing, there were 25 reviews logged on the site for Borderlands, and all 23 delivered 'poor' verdicts, resulting in a 'freshness' rating of 0%.
This may change as more reviews are added to the site, but following the law of averages, the signs currently suggest that the score will ultimately be very low, even if it doesn't end up staying at 0%.
Vicky Jessop of the London Evening Standard gave the film one star, writing, “Is Borderlands the worst film of the year? It's definitely in the running – so laughably bad, in fact, that you feel like you've been catapulted back to a time when video game adaptations were synonymous with mediocrity.”
David Rooney of the Hollywood Reporter summed it up: “It's conceivable that longtime fans of the video game could get more out of Borderlands, but I wouldn't count on it. At one point, Claptrap returns to action mode after a heavy weapon attack and says, 'I blacked out. Did something important happen?' Not in this movie.”
Dan Jolin of Empire Magazine gave the film two stars and said, “Borderlands wants so much to be Guardians Of The Galaxy… but it doesn't even come close.”
Peter Debruge of Variety wrote, “When done right, such biting self-parody can serve to excuse a dull narrative. Unfortunately, Borderlands follows so closely on the heels of Deadpool & Wolverine that it feels like a belly flop on that film's cannonball.”
Jonathan Sim of ComingSoon.net gave the film a score of 3/10 and called it “one of the [director Eli] Roth's weakest film, offering little suspense and laughter.”
Taylor Gates of Collider gave it 5/10 and said, “It's just disappointing that the original has so much more to offer in terms of layered characters and complicated themes of trauma and survival than the film is interested in or unable to live up to.”
Men's Journal critic Billie Melissa calls the film “a lifeless cash-grab that has no respect for itself or its audience,” adding, “If Borderlands doesn't stop studio bosses from salivating at the sight of every single IP that lands on their desks, nothing will.”
Metacritic, which summarizes reviews differently, currently gives the film a score of 32, with only one review – Screen Rant with 3.3 out of 5 – being considered positive.
When the social media embargo was lifted on Wednesday, things didn't look good for Borderlands. Premiere attendees were able to share their first impressions. These were also predominantly negative.