I watch movies with lots of popcorn, but the Borderlands movie isn’t even funny.

VINCE Vaughn recently went viral after his spicy interview with Sean Evans on the YouTube show Hot Ones.

Vaughn pointed out something that every moviegoer already knew: Hollywood is more focused on making plays based on popular IPs than creating something original.

1

He said: “Responsible people don’t want to be fired, but are looking to accomplish something great.”

Vaughn’s career is marked by comedies such as The Wedding Crashers and The Break Up, films which are no longer made today despite their moderate success.

Now, films have to tie into an already popular IP to get made, which is why we’re seeing a rise in superhero-centric stories.

That’s not to say that these movies are bad; movies and TV shows based on video game IP vary in quality, but reach the heights of The Last of Us and Fallout, or can be categorized as “mindless entertainment” like the Super Mario Bros. movie.

However, we are sorely lacking today in mid-budget films that simply say something about life, whether it is a comedy, a love story or a horror film, that shed light on the human condition.

In exchange for these fun movies, we get soulless action movies based on popular IPs, where no one was involved and seemed passionate about the project.

Which brings us to Borderlands, a recently released film based on the popular game series from Gearbox Software.

As a video game series, Borderlands is popular for its stylized look and offbeat humor, though its edgy nature has not aged well in the 15 years since the original game’s release.

The film doesn’t know who it’s for and it doesn’t care. The cast is full of great actors and yet we’ve never seen 102 minutes more boring.

Cate Blanchett gave one of the greatest performances of 2022 in Todd Field’s TÁR, but she couldn’t do anything with the bizarre mix of unnatural dialogue and stiff poses that director Eli Roth inflicted on her.

Jack Black captures exactly how obnoxious Claptrap is in games, but it doesn’t make for a fun viewing experience.

All the talent in the world could not avoid this enormous amount of unnecessary exposition and obviously signal humor.

Borderlands is lifeless, and no amount of poorly conceived action sequences, manufactured and unearned emotion, or embarrassing attempts at witty banter can revive it.

Towards the end, the film almost begs the audience to forgive its lack of perseverance and boredom, but it is far too late.

If this movie doesn’t stop studio executives from salivating at the sight of every intellectual property that crosses their desks, nothing will.

We all need to vote with our wallets and start saying no to movies that disrespect our intelligence and waste our time.

If you want to read more about a successful video game adaptation, check out our Fallout TV show review.

All the latest Xbox reviews from The Sun

Get the latest Xbox releases from our experts.