Borderlands | 2024 | PG-13 | – 1.5.4

Why is “Borderlands” rated PG-13? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “intense sequences of violence and action, language and some suggestive material.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes sexual innuendo delivered by a robot, gunfire exchanges in many scenes that cause death with some blood, several fight scenes with bodies being thrown, explosions that throw people, people being eaten by giant creatures, a person imbued with immeasurable power, several arguments, discussions of greed and consumerism, and some strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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Based on the eponymous video game: A hidden vault that is said to contain the key to immense power is sought by a powerful man (Edgar Ramírez), who is convinced that a teen girl (Ariana Greenblatt) possesses one of the keys. Four people (Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis and Florian Munteanu) and a robot (voiced by Jack Black) come together to protect her from his greedy desires and prevent him from opening the vault. Also with Janina Gavankar, Benjamin Byron Davis, Olivier Richters, Gina Gershon and Ryann Redmond. Directed by Eli Roth. [Running Time: 1:42]

Borderlands SEX/NUDITY 1

 – A woman caresses a weapon that a man is holding in a suggestive manner, as a distraction. A robot makes a sexual hand gesture. A robot breaks a bottle of champagne and says, “Premature celebration.”
► A man’s shirt is torn and reveals part of his bare chest and abdomen. Women wear low-cut tops that reveal cleavage in most scenes. A man is shirtless and we see his bare chest and abdomen.

Borderlands VIOLENCE/GORE 5

 – We see an explosion on a space station and a man opens a cell where a teen girl is held; they exit the cell and many armed guards approach, gunfire is exchanged, a very large man exits another cell and picks some guards up throwing them like rag dolls, and he picks the teen up to protect her saying, “My girl broken.”
► Several people are attacked by many armed people and gunfire is exchanged, they fight with punches and head-butts, and a teen girl stabs an attacker in the chest with two blades (below the frame); more attackers charge toward the others as they climb some stairs, a woman sprays them with a flamethrower and a teen girl throws an explosive blowing some of them up, an attacker swings down from the ceiling and a woman shoots him, a teen girl snaps an attacker’s neck, a man says, “It’s time to bleed,” and gunfire pierces pipes containing acidic liquid that sprays on many people (they flail and scream), and a man is overrun by many attackers as he continues shooting and throwing explosives. Many armed soldiers surround three people, they shoot at them and flying vehicles fire from above; the large pile of debris where a woman and a teen girl are standing breaks apart and they slide to the ground. Many ground and air vehicles chase and shoot at another vehicle and the people in the vehicle shoot back, a bridge crashes down, several vehicles crash together and flip and the chased vehicle makes its escape. A woman shoots several armed men threatening her in a bar (blood splatters). A giant creature with large pointed teeth and many tentacles moves toward a vehicle and the driver reverses to get away; he then speeds over a ramp and fires a weapon as it passes through the creature’s mouth and out the back of its head and the vehicle lands hard on the ground and speeds away as a robot says, “Hooray for not dying.” We hear screaming (like people being tortured) off-screen as we see skinned carcasses of creatures hanging upside down as men throw knives into them; a man walks through the area and another man sets him on fire (we see him flailing in flames before he falls below the frame). A flashback sequence shows explosions and gunfire on a planet and a woman runs with her young child to get her on board an evacuation vehicle; the woman remains on the planet. A teen girl is surrounded by armed attackers and a man shoots at another man that is threatening her; the man is wearing a protective shield and is unharmed.
► A robot is shot repeatedly and sparks fly from the impact on its casing and it falls down; it is later shown leaning over and grunting as pellets spray out of a hatch on its back (as if defecating) and it says that it is expelling excess lead. A woman shoots a vehicle and it flips over and explodes. A woman sitting among the rib bones of a large creature shoots at a robot repeatedly as it squawks and approaches her. A woman shoots a cage door open freeing several children then shoots the man that had locked them up (he falls dead) and steals his vehicle. A teen girl throws explosives at a woman, that blow debris into the air, the woman picks up a stuffed rabbit that then explodes and the woman is thrown, a man charges toward the woman and she shoots at him, she is thrown into the air to reach a platform where the girl is standing and they point guns at each other. A robot describes a liquid in a stream as being toxic and able to melt anything as several people and the robot must make their way over the stream. Several people speed up in an elevator from an underground area and to the ground above. A teen girl throws an explosive that blows up near a woman and knocks her unconscious (we see her with blood on her arm later). Glowing strands of energy light up around large boulders and build an arch where a woman is lifted into the air and her clothing is burned away to reveal a protective suit and flaming wings, she zaps a man that makes a threat, a teen girl is thrown into a hole in the ground and the woman saves her, the woman is shot a few times from a flying vessel and she is thrown and seems weakened, she flies to the vessel in the air and disables the firing mechanism causing it to crash to the ground (people on the ground run for cover). A man holds a teen girl around the throat threatening her and she punches him three times before he is wrapped by the tentacles of a large creature and pulled into a hole in the ground as he yells.
► A woman punches a man in the face and we see his bloody nose. A man threatens a woman and says, “I will lick your spine clean.” A woman leads a man wearing handcuffs and a hood through a dark alley and into a bar. A woman draws her weapon when she hears rustling among rubble. A robot tells a woman that it will serve her “…until you’re dead.” A robot is dropped into a deep hole in the ground (it is shown to be fine later). People argue in several scenes about what their plan should be.
► A large flying creature swoops through the air carrying a person in its claws; we hear the person screaming. A large creature snarls and roots through garbage. A teen girl refuses to close her window in a vehicle and liquid splashes on her; we are told that it is urine as she complains, “It’s in my mouth.” People hide in a truck filled with garbage (we see their soiled clothing and faces later). A woman vomits and we see goo.

Borderlands LANGUAGE 4

 – 20 scatological terms, 5 anatomical terms, 6 mild obscenities, name-calling (mess, mo-fo, son of a …, criminals, stupid, shortest, crusty old, sad sack, awful person, terrible idea, fat boy, stud, babysitter, pal, dangerous, dirty, toxic wasteland [scatological term deleted] mouth, dude, odd, weird, murderers and thieves, banana pants, bad [anatomical term deleted] killer, least funny, deranged, toast, she devil, scumbag, psychos, claptrap), exclamations (shut-up, thoughts and prayers, wow, oh no, drat, ghosted her), 1 religious profanity (GD), 4 religious exclamations (e.g. God, oh my God, I swear to God). | profanity glossary |

Borderlands SUBSTANCE USE

 – People in a bar drink liquor, people drink in a bar, and a robot breaks a bottle of champagne before anyone drinks any.

Borderlands DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Human advancement, corporate greed, chaos, hope, prophecy, restoring order, memories, cloning, survival, secrets, kidnapping, bounty hunters, destiny, death of a parent.

Borderlands MESSAGE

 – There is no salvation without sacrifice.