Borderlands Ending Defined: It is Not Your Vault

This text comprises main spoilers for “Borderlands.”

The “Borderlands” collection of video video games are a novel breed: they are often considered action-oriented shooters, or they are often thought of as character-based RPGs. Like so many “open-world” video games of the final decade or so, they’re structured in such a method that you can both spend your time curating a personality and gallivanting throughout the wasteland of Pandora, or you can soar proper into story-based missions and observe a scripted story just like the single-player video games of previous.

“Borderlands,” the characteristic movie adaptation, can not presumably replicate the open-world facets of the online game, so it should by default hone in on these story missions. As such, director and co-writer Eli Roth (with Joe Crombie formally co-credited on writing duties) makes an attempt to distill the expansive universe of the “Borderlands” collection right into a coherent film, and a minimum of the place coherence is worried, does a fairly first rate job.

Whereas generic and spinoff, the story of “Borderlands” the film positive aspects some factors by not centering round some younger 20-or-30-something hero, however as an alternative places the middle-aged Lilith (performed by Cate Blanchett) entrance and middle. Like so many movies about older, extra mature characters, “Borderlands” turns into extra fascinating when it is not some younger upstart combating for justice and freedom, however slightly a veteran who’s seen all of it combating for their very own redemption and discovering new depths (and, on this case, particular talents) inside themselves within the course of.

“Borderlands” begins with a voiceover from Lilith describing the historical past of the Eridians, an historical alien race who as soon as loved peace and prosperity via possessing quite a few superpowers. Having died out way back, the one remaining components of their race and tradition had been left inside a Vault, which is supposedly positioned on a backwater planet referred to as Pandora. As a result of it is assumed that this Vault comprises a treasure trove of omnipotent weapons, lots of of individuals are searching for the best way to enter it, everybody from mercenaries referred to as Vault Hunters to the Atlas Company, run by a person known as Atlas (Edgar Ramírez), and its in-house particular forces military, the Crimson Lance.

Supposedly, Atlas’ daughter, Tiny Tina (Ariana Greenblatt), comprises the flexibility to open the Vault, which is why she’s being held for ransom by a rogue faction of Crimson Lance troopers led by Commander Knoxx (Janina Gavankar). Fortuitously for her, one other rogue soldier named Roland (Kevin Hart) breaks her out of jail, and with the assistance of a Berserker named Krieg (Florian Munteanu), they escape to Pandora.

In the meantime, Lilith, a lifelong, no-nonsense bounty hunter, is on one other planet making an attempt to convey a bounty in when she’s confronted by Atlas (who’s broadcasting his picture onto the faces of lackeys that Lilith dispatches with a quickness) and supplied a job monitoring down Tina on Pandora. To assist Lilith keep in contact when she acquires his daughter, Atlas offers her a contact machine, which can activate as soon as she presses its button. After Atlas kills her different bounty, Lilith begrudgingly takes off for Pandora.

Lilith is in no way happy to be again on Pandora — the wasteland of a planet being the once-idyllic place she grew up — now tarnished by legions of Vault Hunters, Raiders, Berserkers, Crimson Lance and all method of scum. Quickly after she begins her seek for Tina, she’s afforded a most unwelcome companion: a talkative robotic named Claptrap (Jack Black) who informs Lilith that he is been mysteriously programmed to help her till her demise. With Claptrap’s assist, Lilith finds Tiny Tina, and no sooner makes an attempt to apprehend the woman when Tina and Krieg flip the tables and combat again.

Sadly for everybody concerned, the explosions Tina units off through the scuffle appeal to the eye of Knoxx, who’s about to sick her total regiment of Crimson Lance on the group when Roland turns up in a battle-ready truck, rescuing his crew and Lilith together with them. The group makes their escape via the lair of a creature referred to as a Thresher (who apparently makes use of its lair as one large bathroom), actually taking pictures their method out of the stomach of the beast.

As soon as secure once more, Roland tries to exile Lilith however the bounty hunter explains that having now gotten right into a scuffle with the Lance, she’s as a lot of a wished felon as the remainder of them. Reluctantly, all of them comply with journey to Sanctuary Metropolis to seek out somebody to assist them on their quest: to seek out and open the Vault earlier than Atlas or anybody else does, particularly now that they’ve already discovered a Vault Key.

In Sanctuary, the crew meets up with their contact, Moxxi (Gina Gershon), a madam and saloon proprietor who has connections in all places because of her Pandoran roots. That features realizing Lilith from earlier than the lady left the planet, and particularly Lilith’s Mother (Haley Bennett), who she was pals with earlier than her dying. Moxxi offers the crew the passcode to the key workplace and lab of Dr. Tannis (Jamie Lee Curtis), one other Pandoran who has specific experience with the planet’s historical past, particularly in the case of the Vault.

Seems that Lilith and Tannis have their very own historical past, too, and it is on much more bitter phrases: Tannis, who was additionally pals with Lilith’s Mother, was tasked with handing Lilith over to some pirates and scavengers when Mother insisted on getting her daughter off Pandora. Whereas the stress between the ladies simmers, Lilith takes a breather on Tannis’ balcony, throughout which she speaks to Tiny Tina, who reveals that she’s truly not Atlas’ organic daughter, however a clone created from some preserved Eridian DNA, therefore her “particular” standing and why Atlas badly desires her beneath his management once more.

Whereas the crew tries and plan their subsequent transfer, Claptrap forces their hand by drawing consideration to himself, inflicting an previous Lance roommate of Roland’s, Larry (Bobby Lee), to rat them out. In the event you did not already get that our heroes had been outcasts, the crew barely make their escape from this newest emergency by smuggling themselves out with the literal trash.

Utilizing Tannis’ dusty previous information on the archeological historical past of Pandora, the crew realizes that the subsequent Vault Key could be discovered someplace on the backside of an deserted mine. After all, in true “Indiana Jones” (or possibly it needs to be “Tomb Raider”) vogue, the mine is suffering from numerous dying traps which embrace a river of acid and a legion of Berserkers. Lilith confers with Tannis as to how lengthy their quest to seek out the final two Keys and open the Vault goes to take. Tannis reveals that this Key would be the final one they should discover as a result of Tiny Tina herself is definitely the third Key. Lilith is additional disturbed to be taught that, in line with rumor and legend, opening the Vault could find yourself killing Tina.

Fortuitously for the group and this film’s runtime, Lilith finds the Vault Key instantly, nearly as if she might supernaturally sense its presence. Earlier than anybody can guess why that is perhaps, the crew tries to make use of Claptrap to distract the Berserker horde, which solely works for just some moments earlier than everyone seems to be making tracks for the exit whereas pew-pew-pew-ing on the baddies.

As soon as he realizes that the exit elevator is not going to work until he fixes some frayed wires, Roland takes one for the group, heroically declaring that he’ll meet them on the Vault. As he heads off to tackle a horde by himself, the remainder of the group flies uncontrollably up at rising speeds like they’d out of the blue entered a Wonkavator. On the final second earlier than destruction, the crew is teleported to security, and everybody agrees that the teleportation is a brand new Eridian superpower that Tina has found.

Whereas what stays of the group takes a breather, Lilith wrestles together with her conscience concerning what to do about her dedication to Atlas. When Claptrap reminds her of the communication machine she’s supposed to make use of to contact him, she makes the choice to smash it. Nonetheless, Atlas had deliberate on this all alongside; the machine wasn’t for communication in any respect, however was slightly a monitoring beacon that is led him and his forces proper to Tina. As one other Atlas proxy reveals this to Lilith, Tina eavesdrops on their dialog, sufficient to consider that Lilith has betrayed her and her pals. Tina units off an explosion, distracting Atlas’ goons and knocking Lilith unconscious.

After Tina, Tannis, and Krieg flee, Lilith awakens to seek out herself and Claptrap within the ruins of what was the place the place she grew up. Strolling to her previous house, Lilith comes upon a drawing that she’d made as a toddler of a phoenix, and when Claptrap scans the drawing, he collapses. It seems that Lilith’s Mother is who programmed Claptrap years in the past to guard her, and in a video message she’d saved on the robotic, she confesses that she despatched Lilith away believing that her remaining on Pandora could be too harmful, solely to appreciate too late that protecting her there would’ve allowed her to find her true identification sooner. That is proper: this backwater bounty hunter has secretly been one of many few (maybe solely) dwelling descendants of the Eridians, and it’s she, not Tina, who has untapped superpowers, similar to that teleportation stunt. In mythic phrases, Lilith is the Chosen One, the legend returned: in “Borderlands” phrases, she’s what’s referred to as a Firehawk.

Because of Tannis’ map, she, Tina, and Krieg arrive on the Vault entrance, and a fearful Tannis informs Tiny Tina that she could die when she opens the Vault. Tina scoffs, not believing Tannis, and it seems she’s half proper; Tina would not die, however she would not open the Vault, both. A disheartened Tina is much more dismayed to find that Atlas has additionally arrived, and that, upon seeing his newest clone fail to open the Vault, he plans to scrap her and begin over with a brand new clone.

Fortuitously, Lilith reveals up simply in time to save lots of the day, and now she’s bought tremendous Firehawk powers, too. These embrace lifting individuals into the air with, nicely, fireplace, and giving them protecting shielding with, uh, extra fireplace (do not query it, I suppose). Simply as Lilith is being made to open the Vault at gunpoint (the method of opening the dimensional door remodeling her into her Firehawk type), a still-alive Roland reveals as much as assist out his previous buddies.

Certain sufficient, the whole canyon the place the Vault entrance erupts right into a firefight, and our heroes maintain their very own fairly nicely. Sadly, Atlas is affordable and never solely makes use of a specialised protect go well with to guard himself from all blows and blasts but in addition has a distant management hooked as much as the massive cannons of his spaceship that is hovering overhead. Is that this the top of “Borderlands?”

It isn’t! Lilith manages to discover a workaround for attacking Atlas’ gunship, sending a bolt of her fireplace powers up into the weapons themselves, which detonates the ship from the within and sends it crashing down into the canyon. Sadly, Atlas isn’t out of the sport but, and he takes Tiny Tina hostage, demanding to be let into the Vault. Understanding a take care of the dastardly villain to let the remainder of her pals go free, Lilith agrees to take Atlas into the Vault.

Upon moving into the portal, Atlas is initially ecstatic to see the Eridian expertise floating round him in all instructions. He is additionally fairly cocky, provided that he is nonetheless carrying his extremely protecting protect go well with. Nonetheless, he would not occur to be very observant, for Lilith is ready to distract him lengthy sufficient that she will discreetly take away his protect generator, permitting Tina to get just a few kicks and licks in as retribution. After all, it was silly of Atlas to consider that he might take what was by no means his property, but mockingly, his final destiny is to develop into a everlasting resident of the Vault. Lilith and Tiny Tina usually are not heartless individuals, nonetheless; they ensure he has a companion to maintain him occupied, even when this companion occurs to be ravenous and lots of tentacled.

Now that the Emperor — oh, sorry. Now that Sauron — ah, dangit. Now that Atlas is defeated, town of Sanctuary erupts into celebration, realizing that their lengthy years of dwelling beneath his reign have ended (or possibly they’re simply glad that the Vault has lastly been discovered and all these vacationers with weapons will cease displaying as much as go to). The crew admires their handiwork from Tannis’ balcony, remarking how issues are going to be totally different on Pandora now.

Whereas the remainder of the group decides to move all the way down to the streets with a purpose to be a part of the occasion, Tiny Tina takes the chance to have a Lydia Deetz second, asking Lilith if she might do “the factor.” That factor is not lifting her into the air and making her sing Harry Belafonte tunes; it is lighting herself on fireplace, flying into the sky and inflicting a giant fireworks-style explosion within the type of a phoenix, or I suppose a Firehawk as a result of in any other case, this could be an X-Males film.

As Claptrap dances via the top credit, we’re left to ponder whether or not that is the final we’ll see of Lilith, Tiny Tina, and all their compatriots; in any case, the prognosis for additional “Borderlands” adventures doesn’t look too promising. On the very least, every of our heroes has remained true to themselves, with some even discovering their true selves buried deep down in their very own private Vaults. If the “Borderlands” identify stays sturdy, maybe extra adventures on Pandora are so as. If not, a minimum of this “Borderlands” is unbroken, telling its personal model of a basic style journey with none pesky cliffhangers or post-credits teases.