Summary
FromSuper Mario Bros.in 1993 toSonic the Hedgehogin 2020, there have been a lot of video game movies. A criticism that often comes up is that the movies are nothing like the games. Is that the case with the latest game-to-movie adaptation akaBorderlands? It’s a hard question to answer because on the surface it looks exactly what aBorderlandsmovie should be.
There are Psychos, a wild amount of action and guns, famous characters, and the bright colors feel like an homage to the cel-shaded art style. As much as theBorderlandsmovie does right, it also changes some things. That doesn’t mean they are bad changes, so let’s go through the biggest lore changes with spoilers on.
4The Vault Hunters
The Movie Changes The First Protagonists
In the first Borderlands, players could choose one of four characters who each had a distinctive class which is typical of most looter shooters. Lilith and Roland were good choices to feature in the movie as they were two of the four heroes in said first game. The other two characters, Mordecai and Brick, were left out of the movie. There are three replacements for Mordecai and Brick, some making sense, and others a bit baffling. First, Krieg appears in the movie who is a Psycho which basically translates to a wastelander who pillages from other people.
Now, Krieg is a playable character in the second game but only after DLC. He looks the part in the movie, even sporting a giant thrown-together axe-like weapon, but he is missing a character trait. On the outside, Krieg screams like most Psychos do in the games, usually about meat. Krieg also has an inner monologue in his head that is more dignified, which makes him a funny character inBorderlands 2beyond all of the smashing. This inner voice is not a big deal inthe movie adaptation.
Another replacement to the team isthe robot, Claptrap. A Claptrap unit has been in all of the games but it wasn’t until the third game, which was a spinoff calledBorderlands: The Pre-Sequel, that one was playable. Claptrap in the movie doesn’t do a whole lot as an offensive character, but it does its normal schtick of saying wacky things as a robot. The third character will be saved for a larger deep dive.
3Deukalian Atlas Is A New Character
The crux of the plot revolves around thefifth major character, Tiny Tina. In the games, she gets introduced toBorderlands 2as an NPC. She’s wild about explosives and dresses like a rabbit. While the movie doesn’t go as hard on her unhinged nature, the actress, Ariana Greenblatt, looks the part. The bigger twist is that Tiny Tina is the daughter of the Atlas CEO in the movie, Deukalian Atlas, who is a new character.
He hires Roland within The Crimson Lance to free her from a space prison, which is also where Krieg is being held. For some reason, Roland defects frees Krieg and Tiny Tina, and then the three of them are on the lamb. This is different for both the versions of Roland and Tiny Tina from the games. First, it’s unknown exactly why Roland leaves The Crimson Lance to become a Vault Hunter in the first game.
This change in the movie is a good adaptation. Tiny Tina’s changes are a bit more wild because it’s said that she is a clone. Deukalian Atlas thought she was an ancestor of the Eridians, the alien race who made the Vaults, so he cloned her repeatedly hoping to createa new Sirento open the Vault on Pandora. In the games, Tiny Tina is experimented on too, but it’s by Handsome Jack, the villain ofBorderlands 2. Handsome Jack also experiments on Tiny Tina’s real parents who die in the process.
2Dr. Tannis Helped Raise Lilith
Lilith Is Also A Bounty Hunter
Lilith’s character isalmost completely different in the movie. She’s a bounty hunter roaming the galaxy to get rich or die trying. Her attitude is more snarky too like she was from an 80s movie full of one-liners. She’s a bit more reserved in the games although Lilith’s character does get punched up a bit once she’s an NPC in the later games.
Another big change is that Dr. Tannis helped raise Lilith briefly. Eventually, she gave Lilith up to traders who she thought would keep her safe and away fromthe Vault Huntersof the world. Besides the new history that the two share in the movie, Dr. Tannis tonally is the same character as the one in the games. Knowledge comes before common courtesy for her, leading to some funky encounters.
Lilith also has no idea she has magical powers or is a Siren in the movie. That’s a fact that is very much upfront inBorderlandsas it allows players to decide on who to choose of the four starters. Fire magic in a sci-fi shooter will sound tempting to a lot of players and that’s a big reason why Sirens in the sequels are also pretty popular.
1General Knox Has A Daughter
Janina Gavankar Moves From Star Wars To Borderlands
Borderlandshad quite a few DLC packs, but unlike its sequels, the DLC did not add playable characters. One of the standouts wasThe Secret Armory of General Knoxxwhich finally gave players the chance to go face to face with this villain from The Crimson Lance. General Knoxx is not present in the movie, but it does add a new character. Commander Knoxx is his daughter, who serves as a tie to Roland.
It’s unknown if Roland and her used to date, but there’s a history between the two at least. Unfortunately for fans of her, Commander Knoxx dies in the movie or to be blunt, is absolutely vaporized. She’s played by Janina Gavankar who some game fans may recognize as the heroine ofStar Wars Battlefront 2’scampaign, Iden Versio, and most recently, Agent Estevez, inAlan Wake 2. She’s appeared in many nerdy things, but that stands out.
