Tomb Raider is a 2018 action adventure based on the popular video game franchise where a young woman must get past the death of her father and help complete a quest that he started many years ago.
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Adapting video games into movies has never been an easy task. Sometimes you get ones that come close to the source material like Silent Hill and then there are others that miss the boat entirely, like Super Mario Bros. When Tomb Raider was first adapted to the big screen back in 2001, it was a big hit. Angelina Jolie was the hero and certainly had the measurements of buxom explorer Lara Croft as compared to the original game version. Then in 2013, the game series was rebooted, taking a more gritty take on the franchise and so now in 2018 we finally have another big screen adaptation, this time starring Alicia Vikander.
Lara Croft is a tough and resourceful young woman who is seen struggling to make money. Not that she actually needs to because she is the daughter of a very rich tycoon. She just chooses to do things by herself. Her father, Richard (Dominic West) has been missing for so long that everyone assumes that he is dead, but Lara refuses to let go. One night, she discovers a hidden room at the estate and finds out that her father was an explorer who was researching something called Himiko (It’s basically the ark from Raiders of The Lost Ark without actually saying that it is). Wanting to put closure on the whole thing, Lara decides to go in search of it, leading her to a specific island where gets herself into a number of adventures along the way. She soon comes across Mathias Vogel (Walter Goggins), a rival of Richard’s who wants to find the Himiko all for himself, naturally for the power.
The plot of Tomb Raider goes exactly the way you expect it to but that’s okay because that way turns out to be a lot of fun. Scenes of dialog and exposition are short, like cut scenes from a video game, and the action sequences made me feel like I was actually playing the game itself, just with much better graphics. Compare a few scenes with that 2013 game and there are several moments that are taken right from it, and even though this is a standard journey movie with various chase scenes, it keeps that video game vibe all the way through.
As for Vikander, she’s really good. There were some of course who said that she doesn’t have ‘the body’ to be Lara Croft, but if you’ve played the 2013 game, she surely does. In fact, what I like best about Vikander’s take is that there is no need to sexualize the character. As much as I enjoyed how Jolie looked in that now iconic outfit, there was no real reason for random semi-nude scenes in those movies. Vikander’s Croft is much more a real person than eye candy. It was also great to have a female character that had no love interest. In too many action movies, the woman must have a boyfriend that she at first hates and than falls in love with at the midway point and I’m glad this movie avoided the cliché. Hopefully, that means most will have a better connection with this version of Lara. The only issue I really had with Lara is that it felt random as to when she was vulnerable and when she was strong. Still, it’s a step in the right direction and I would surely watch another movie with Vikander in the lead.
As for the supporting cast, they are good but they could have easily been cut and you wouldn’t really miss much. Goggins is great but it’s the same kind of villain bent on money and power we’ve seen so often before. And unfortunately, West’s performance is nothing special.
READ MORE: Why Casting Lara Croft is Ultimately Futile
Tomb Raider is the first English language film from director Roar Uthaug and the way he uses his cameras are extremely effective at making it feel as we are playing the video game. Some may dislike this for having a story that is basally paint by numbers, but I enjoyed it, although I do hope that in the sequel Lara invades more tombs … however, since this is basically an origin tale, it’s easy to forgive.
While not a perfect video game adaptation, Tomb Raider has enough action to keep you interested in its two hour runtime. Vikander is full of charisma and I hope this opens the gates to more blockbusters with women in this kind of role.