The internet wants you to believe that Borderlands is the worst film of the year, but that's not the case.

Last Friday, August 9, I went to an opening night screening of "Borderlands," so I was prepared for the worst. Back then, the film had a dismal 6% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (it has since skyrocketed to a whopping 9%), and my colleague had just given it a one-star rating in our "Borderlands" review. As soon as the lights went down and the movie started, I had very low expectations.

After 102 minutes, I walked out of the theater with bleary eyes and wondered, "Was that it?" While "Borderlands" is undoubtedly a bad film and will probably rank among my top ten least favorite films of the year come December, it is by no means the worst film I've seen in the previous eight months (I've seen 56 films in theaters to date). The criticism and audience overload that the film endured over the weekend and into this week seems really harsh to me.

Major online commentators have been attacking "Borderlands," calling it one of the worst blockbusters of the twenty-first century. Professional reviewers are also practically stumbling over each other to write the sharpest critiques they can. The internet as a whole enjoys punching bags, and at the moment, "Borderlands" is taking some jabs to the face.

Let me clarify this.

Let me be very clear before I launch into my incredibly lukewarm defense of "Borderlands" (actually, maybe tepid would be a better word). This movie is not good. I'm not here to protest all the negative reviews and say that people are misinterpreting it or that it's just "good fun" and that people are taking it too seriously.

"Borderlands" has a great deal of disastrous flaws in practically every area. It is terribly miscast from the start. Especially, Kevin Hart's portrayal of tough soldier Roland seems like a choice from a "Saturday Night Live" sketch. While Ariana Greenblatt's Tiny Tina lacks the eccentricities of her character, Jamie Lee Curtis' awkward scientist Tannis isn't much better—though that might be a good thing.

Furthermore, an easily approachable PG-13 film that completely deviates from this universe has been made from a very mature series of video games (well, the Borderlands games are very immature in tone, but are packed with profanity, potty humor, and pulpy violence). Where are the blood buckets and crude jokes?

And I haven't even mentioned the convoluted storyline that seems to have been rewritten endlessly (maybe for this reason co-showrunner Craig Mazin of "The Last of Us" requested his name be taken out of the script). "Borderlands" suffers from terrible pacing, strange storyline devices, and a third-act "reveal" that is so blatantly obvious that I actually laughed when the film presented it as a shocking turn of events.

'Borderlands' isn’t all bad

Even this isn't a comprehensive list of all the issues with the movie. I haven't talked about the uninspired action scenes or the corny soundtrack, which is a terrible parody of "Guardians of the Galaxy." That's not to say, though, that "Borderlands" is a complete failure—there were a few aspects that at least somewhat salvaged my viewing experience.

First of all, even though Cate Blanchett's portrayal of Lilith in the Borderlands video games is miscast, the movie does a much better job of presenting her as the lead than the film merits. Blanchett lends a natural gravitas to some very dreadful material. She also kind of rocks an orange neon wig!

Jack Black, who voiced the one-wheeled robot Claptrap, was the other cast member I really liked. Although the little yellow irritant seems to be dividing fans on social media (I saw a post referring to him as “Jar Jar Binks times 1,000”), I couldn't help but laugh at his bubbly demeanor, quick comebacks, and sardonic remarks. Apart from the already notorious long joke in which he spits bullets, I thought Claptrap was hilarious, as did the people in the audience. I wasn't the only one chuckling in the theater auditorium, which was only partially occupied.

Additionally, the movie "Borderlands" does a great job of emulating the cel-shaded graphic style of the game. The visual style of "Borderlands" is unique, and the film does a good job of bringing it to life. Even though the content on screen is frequently beautifully rendered, it may not always be particularly intriguing or well written.

This year, I've seen worse movies.

The fact that so many people, even those I doubt haven't even seen the film themselves, have been calling "Borderlands" the worst film of the year on my social media feeds is what really inspired me to write this piece. I firmly believe that 2024 has already served up a number of far worse examples of cinematic waste, some of which have escaped with comparatively little backlash.

Therefore, even though I would never advise you to actively seek out "Borderlands," if you find yourself obliged to watch it because a loved one has poor taste in media, you can at least find solace in the knowledge that this year has seen the release of a few worse films. Like I did, you might even get a fleeting sense of satisfaction from "Borderlands" in a few places. Honestly, though, I would strongly advise against watching any of the films listed above and to watch "Dune Part Two" once more.