Cate Blanchett says critics-bashed ‘Borderlands’ is “fun,” but “it’s not Citizen Kane”

Cate Blanchett says critics-bashed ‘Borderlands’ is “fun,” but “it’s not Citizen Kane”
Lionsgate

While its Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score has risen — from zero to 7% — some of those behind the video game adaptation Borderlands are hoping moviegoers “give it a chance.”

In USA Today, Cate Blanchett explained she was pulling double duty making the critically panned action comedy in 2021 — ironically alongside an Oscar-nominated film, Tár.

She said, “Sometimes the films we hold up as the greatest of all time were not financial or audience successes, yet they’ve become classics.”

The actress continues, “I’m not saying Borderlands is a classic! It’s fun, fun, fun, but it’s not Citizen Kane!”

“I mean, it’s not The Grapes of Wrath. It’s not Blade Runner. It’s its own strange, weird thing, and when you look at the casting, there’s a motley quality to it,” she noted.

The movie also stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Hart, Gina Gershon and Ahsoka‘s Ariana Greenblatt.

Cate adds, “I don’t think anyone would call Borderlands art, but it’s fun.”

Strauss Zelnick, the CEO of Take Two Software, which acquired Borderlands‘ video game producer Gearbox and co-produced the film, took a similar tack.

He said on an earnings call, “Let’s give the film a chance.”

“A lot of people worked really hard on it. The underlying intellectual property is phenomenal, the cast is amazing, I think the look and feel is really terrific. So let’s see what audiences have to say,” he said, according to IGN.

Borderlands is now in theaters.

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