episode

Haven’t seen ‘Borderlands,’ the latest video game movie? You have chosen wisely. Ben, Rob Mahoney, and Matt James chose poorly, and they’re here to report on the brand-new box office flop. They begin by bantering about the demise of Game Informer and the end of the era of video game magazines (6:00). Then they review ‘Borderlands’ (16:00) and discuss how it got made (36:00) and why it became a debacle that snapped a streak of strong game adaptations (44:24). They conclude by weighing whether ‘Borderlands’ is the worst movie to feature multiple Oscar winners (52:00), comparing it to previous video game movie misfires (53:00), fantasy-casting their own improbably star-studded video game movies (59:00, and picking the upcoming adaptations they’re most anticipating (1:05:00).

Host: Ben Lindbergh
Guests: Rob Mahoney and Matt James
Producer: Devon Renaldo
Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopal

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Ben is a writer, podcaster, and editor who covers culture and sports. He hosts ‘Effectively Wild’ at FanGraphs and previously wrote for FiveThirtyEight and Grantland, served as editor-in-chief of Baseball Prospectus, and authored ‘The MVP Machine’ and ‘The Only Rule Is It Has to Work.’

Ben Lindbergh

Rob covers the NBA and pop culture for The Ringer. He previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated.

‘Borderlands’ Bombed. What Went Wrong? | Button Mash

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