Borderlands Ending Defined: It is Not Your Vault

This text comprises main spoilers for “Borderlands.”

The “Borderlands” collection of video video games are a singular 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 approach 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 function movie adaptation, can’t probably replicate the open-world points 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 no less than the place coherence is worried, does a fairly first rate job.

Whereas generic and spinoff, the story of “Borderlands” the film features 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 isn’t some younger upstart preventing for justice and freedom, however relatively a veteran who’s seen all of it preventing 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 by means of 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 situated 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, a whole lot of persons are on the lookout for the best way to enter it, everybody from mercenaries referred to as Vault Hunters to the Atlas Company, run by a person referred to as Atlas (Edgar Ramírez), and its in-house particular forces military, the Crimson Lance.

Supposedly, Atlas’ daughter, Tiny Tina (Ariana Greenblatt), comprises the power 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). Thankfully 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 trying 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 under no circumstances 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 assist her till her demise. With Claptrap’s assist, Lilith finds Tiny Tina, and no sooner makes an attempt to apprehend the lady when Tina and Krieg flip the tables and struggle again.

Sadly for everybody concerned, the explosions Tina units off through the scuffle entice the eye of Knoxx, who’s about to sick her complete 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 by means of the lair of a creature referred to as a Thresher (who apparently makes use of its lair as one large rest room), actually taking pictures their approach out of the stomach of the beast.

As soon as protected 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 search out somebody to assist them on their quest: to search 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 due to her Pandoran roots. That features understanding Lilith from earlier than the girl left the planet, and particularly Lilith’s Mother (Haley Bennett), who she was buddies 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 explicit experience with the planet’s historical past, particularly in relation to 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 buddies 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 really not Atlas’ organic daughter, however a clone made out of some preserved Eridian DNA, therefore her “particular” standing and why Atlas badly desires her below 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. When 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 recordsdata 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. In fact, in true “Indiana Jones” (or possibly it must be “Tomb Raider”) vogue, the mine is suffering from numerous dying traps which embody a river of acid and a legion of Berserkers. Lilith confers with Tannis as to how lengthy their quest to search 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 study that, in keeping with rumor and legend, opening the Vault could find yourself killing Tina.

Thankfully for the group and this film’s runtime, Lilith finds the Vault Key instantly, virtually as if she may supernaturally sense its presence. Earlier than anybody can guess why that is likely to be, the crew tries to make use of Claptrap to distract the Berserker horde, which solely works for only a few 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 except he fixes some frayed wires, Roland takes one for the workforce, 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 relating to 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 relatively 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 buddies. Tina units off an explosion, distracting Atlas’ goons and knocking Lilith unconscious.

After Tina, Tannis, and Krieg flee, Lilith awakens to search out herself and Claptrap within the ruins of what was the place the place she grew up. Strolling to her previous residence, Lilith comes upon a drawing that she’d made as a baby 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 understand too late that conserving 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, identical 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.

Due to Tannis’ map, she, Tina, and Krieg arrive on the Vault entrance, and a nervous 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.

Thankfully, Lilith exhibits up simply in time to avoid wasting the day, and now she’s bought tremendous Firehawk powers, too. These embody lifting individuals into the air with, properly, hearth, and giving them protecting shielding with, uh, extra hearth (do not query it, I assume). Simply as Lilith is being made to open the Vault at gunpoint (the method of opening the dimensional door remodeling her into her Firehawk kind), a still-alive Roland exhibits as much as assist out his previous buddies.

Positive sufficient, the complete canyon the place the Vault entrance erupts right into a firefight, and our heroes maintain their very own fairly properly. Sadly, Atlas is affordable and never solely makes use of a specialised defend swimsuit 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 hearth powers up into the weapons themselves, which detonates the ship from the within and sends it crashing down into the canyon. Sadly, Atlas just isn’t out of the sport but, and he takes Tiny Tina hostage, demanding to be let into the Vault. Figuring out a take care of the dastardly villain to let the remainder of her buddies go free, Lilith agrees to take Atlas into the Vault.

Upon entering into the portal, Atlas is initially ecstatic to see the Eridian know-how floating round him in all instructions. He is additionally fairly cocky, on condition that he is nonetheless sporting his extremely protecting defend swimsuit. 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 defend generator, permitting Tina to get just a few kicks and licks in as retribution. In fact, it was silly of Atlas to consider that he may take what was by no means his property, but paradoxically, his final destiny is to grow to be a everlasting resident of the Vault. Lilith and Tiny Tina should not heartless individuals, nonetheless; they be sure that 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, the town of Sanctuary erupts into celebration, understanding that their lengthy years of dwelling below his reign have ended (or possibly they’re simply completely satisfied that the Vault has lastly been discovered and all these vacationers with weapons will cease exhibiting 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 part of the get together, Tiny Tina takes the chance to have a Lydia Deetz second, asking Lilith if she may do “the factor.” That factor is not lifting her into the air and making her sing Harry Belafonte tunes; it is lighting herself on hearth, flying into the sky and inflicting an enormous fireworks-style explosion within the type of a phoenix, or I suppose a Firehawk as a result of in any other case, this is able to be an X-Males film.

As Claptrap dances by means of 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, no less than this “Borderlands” is unbroken, telling its personal model of a basic style journey with none pesky cliffhangers or post-credits teases.