Tomb Raider (2018)

Movie Info

Let’s totally raid some tombs!

Lara Croft (Alicia Vikander) tossed her life away after the disappearance of her father Richard (Dominic West) when she was a child. To keep her family estate, Lara is going to have to come back but new evidence that her father might still be alive sends Lara on an adventure to Hong Kong. Teamed with a ship captain named Lu Ren (Daniel Wu), Lara finds Mathias Vogel (Walton Goggins) and a crew searching for the treasure her father died in search of…but Lara is about to uncover the truth of Himiko the Queen of Yamatai.

Directed by Roar Uthaug, Tomb Raider is a relaunch of the Tomb Raider film franchise that was previously led by Angelina Jolie. The movie adapts the 2013 game in the franchise that began in 1996. The film received mixed reviews but a strong return at the box office.

While Angelina Jolie really was great casting for Lara Croft in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Lara Croft Tomb Raider:  The Cradle of Life, both films were pretty rotten. Alicia Vikander has the acting chops as another take on Lara Croft and the film is better (but that also didn’t take much).

Who’s your mummy?

The story is an origin story and origin stories often can struggle. Everyone by now knows that Lara Croft is a capable and exciting gun wielding treasure hunter, but here we see her struggling to win a fight at a local gym and spending much of the movie being beat-up. Her character does develop through the film with the promise that she will be the character from the game in the future, and while the film was a success, no immediate sequel was planned.

Jolie played up the camp of the Lara character, while Vikander’s Lara is a more realistic view of the character (though she does end up precariously hanging from ledges etc. way more than any person hangs in life). Walton Goggins has developed as a great villain along the lines of Michael Ironside. When he shows up in a movie, you know he’s going to be bad…it is just a matter of how bad. Kristin Scott Thomas felt like she was there for sequels, and I wish Daniel Wu had more to do once the character gets to the island. There are also small roles by Nick Frost and Derek Jacobi.

Lara’s always hanging in there!

The movie looks good and falls in line with the 2013 iteration of Tomb Raider. The previous Tomb Raider films did a lot of jetsetting with locations around the globe. This feels more centralized since the characters just go to an island (though it feels like a King Kong type island without dinosaurs)…of course it does make you question why Lara didn’t just pay for a helicopter to fly there since they are picked up in one.

Tomb Raider was an improvement, and I would see another Tomb Raider if one comes out. Watching a film like this shows its borrowing of themes from Indiana Jones, but Lara’s potential does give it possibility to be something more (or you could just get an Uncharted movie). I want to see Lara packing her classic guns though I highly doubt she’ll be mowing down tigers left and right like in the game. With the success of the film, I’m sure something will be worked out.

Related Links:

Lara Croft:  Tomb Raider (2001)

Lara Croft Tomb Raider:  The Cradle of Life (2003)