Borderlands movie adaptation plagued with issues; Originality, storyline and execution questioned

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It has only been announced that the widely popular Borderlands video game is turning into a film, yet the movie is already plagues with several issues. Concerns about Borderlands film's originality, possible storyline and execution have been raised by many.

According to Forbes, the Borderlands visuals and original story itself-the entire concept of the game, actually-was supposedly plagiarized from CodeHunters. CodeHunters, a cel-shaded short film released in 2006, has strikingly similar visual style and storyline with Borderlands, so much that they looked like they had the same creators.

Consequently, questions on the Borderlands movie's storyline and originality are raised, what with another film (albeit short and animated), practically, delivering the premise already.

CodeHunters creator Ben Hibon had no part whatsoever in Borderlands, however, he was contacted to prior to the overhaul of the game's visuals in 2008. Negotiations for Hibon to "direct/design some cut-scenes" for Gearbox, ultimately, broke down. He said in an interview that he was more than confused when he saw Borderlands in its 2009 release.

Unknown to some, Borderlands had a very different look before they re-designed, with the former looking more like a "poor man's Rage." Hibon clarifies, "Gearbox saw my work and decided to reproduce it - make it their own - without my help or my consent." The company's chief Randy Pitchford claimed it as coincidence and "inspiration".

A number of artists and designers were apparently inspired and influenced by Hibon's short film, although they don't credit him or the film anywhere. Pitchford also faced another bootleg case, when the Borderlands 2 box included images that were identical to posters designed by Olly Moss for the Star Wars trilogy. Similarly, Gearbox owed it to inspiration and influence, and no credit to Moss.

An article by Games Radar also mentioned the problem of execution of the movie. The videogame is an FPS (First Person Shooter), with some elements of RPG (Role Playing Game/s). Meaning to say, it's "light on story and heavy on shooting wildly in every direction" which is the combination that made it popular.

Eyebrows are raised on the film adaptation and even the gentlest of critics question how much development the movie could have without losing the weapon specifications, which is basically, what Borderlands is about.

According to Hardcore Gamer, Lionsgate might be "biting off more than they can chew." Lionsgate has joined the rising popularity of video game to movie conversion, which is another issue that the studio has to face. Video games turned into films don't exactly have a successful track record in Hollywood, and even successful games heavier on the storyline, like Prince of Persia, are not exempt.

Since the Borderlands movie adaptation is on its very initial stages, perhaps in time Lionsgate and Gearbox could address the issues plaguing the production. However, this must be done sooner rather than later, since the doubts cast are essentially the backbone of the movie: the originality, storyline and execution.

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