Borderlands IMAX review

A tale set in an alien planet called ‘Pandora’, lots of world-building, and plenty of action. No, we’re not talking about 2009’s Avatar, but Borderlands, Hollywood’s latest video game adaptation of a series that was born in the same year. Unlike James Cameron’s masterpiece, however, Borderlands is a mixed bag of a film.  

I just watched an opening day IMAX show of the movie, and for a change, here’s why you should not catch this movie in IMAX (or any format). 

What is Borderlands?

A popular video game series that originated over a decade ago, Borderlands is a series of action, role-playing first person shooting games set in the distant land of Pandora. Players engage in weapon-based combat with a mix of superpower-like abilities, resulting in some amazing gameplay.  

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Borderlands, the movie, is an adaptation of the said series of games, featuring the same fictional world of Pandora, along with big names like Kevin Hart, Cate Blanchett and Jack Black. The movie is set largely on the same plot as the games, and follows the same characters including Roland, Lilith, and lots of ‘psycho bandits’. 

Borderlands in IMAX

With a predictable plot, even for those new to the series, Borderlands is your average action flick that involves a group of misfits banding together to hunt for a treasure. It even ends up in the same brimming bucket of “the real treasure was the friends we made along the way” movies. Sigh. 

While I didn’t walk into Borderlands expecting a cinematic masterpiece, what I did expect was some good IMAX moments that make use of the tall, large-screen format, its excellent display quality and fantastic surround sound. Unfortunately, the movie disappoints on these aspects too.  

While the trailer promises you a lot of high-stakes action sequences, the movie leaves you feeling like you didn’t have enough of those moments at all. Except for a few scenes involving dragon-like creatures and psycho bandits with glowing masks (all of which makes up less than 60 seconds of the entire runtime) the movie doesn’t leverage the creative freedom that IMAX screens offer you.  

There’s a reason why movies like Interstellar (2014), The Batman (2022), Oppenheimer (2023) or even Dune: Part Two (2024) look so stunning when you watch them in IMAX. Shots that put you in film, clubbed with a score that adds to the immersive-ness are powerful elements – elements that can make you overlook an otherwise weak movie.  

Borderlands is neither a good film, nor one that has many cool IMAX shots to be proud of. Unless you’re a die-hard fan of the series who must catch the film, I recommend you skip this film. There are plenty of Hollywood adaptations of video games out there that do a better jo… oh wait, never mind.  

If you do however want to catch a visually stunning movie that does justice to the IMAX format and is actually built on fan-service done right, I recommend you watch (or rewatch) Deadpool and Wolverine in IMAX 3D. Still in theatres in most cities, Deadpool’s third flick is a much better entertainer for your money.