Starring: Alicia Vikander, Dominic West, Walton Goggins
Director: Roar Uthaug
Lara Croft (Vikander) refuses to live off her father’s (West) money and makes her own way in the world after he goes missing on a mysterious mission. But when he has to be declared dead after 7 years, Croft uncovers the location of the island where he was last seen and decides to head there her self to find out what happened to her father.
The great thing about the Tomb Raider franchise for me is the semi-magical elements found in the mysterious locations that Lara goes to, and also the puzzles that she has to solve. In this film, since her dad has already been there, and knows all about the ancient Japanese queen Himiko, all the puzzles are largely solved before she hits the island.
Which is lucky really. Lara in this film is a strange creature. We’re meant to believe that she’s independent because she doesn’t use her families money, and yet she’s struggling to make ends meet in mimimum wage jobs. She’s not a responsible adult. She also has run up a debt at her boxing gym, the owner of which, unlike her, does have to work for a living, and considering his gym is in London, by not paying her way, she’s essentially stealing from a hard working guy. Why bother to make her reluctant to live off her family funds? She comes off as a Hackney dwelling trust fund hipster.
Added to that, she doesn’t wear her iconic short shorts ensemble, which bothered me for some reason. And she cries at the drop of a hat, over everything, she constantly hesitates, and manages to get her bag stolen, which made me cringe. What girl doesn’t keep an eye on her bag while travelling? A girl who lives and works in London? I don’t think so.
The plot is improbable, but not bad. It’s a slow starter, but it’s alright once you get to the island, where the location is interesting and the bad guy is nice and cheesey. But it fails to really get off the ground and get the blood racing. The dialogue is pretty bad, heavily cliche ridden, but a lot of games have pretty terrible dialogue, so I was willing to go with it, even though it made me roll my eyes a lot.
Honestly, game adaptations are often pretty terrible, so I don’t go into these things expecting much, but Alicia Vikander is an interesting actress, so I was hopeful that it would be a fun ride. And it was kind of fun, but not great. It’s one to watch if you’re a fan of the game, but not one worth paying a lot for a ticket to see.
See It If: you’re a Tomb Raider fan, it’s pretty dull fare all round.
Wildfire Movies 
Devil’s Island was menacing but once they arrived they lost all momentum and intrigue. Before this movie, I truly felt Scarlett from As Above, So Below was the real tomb raider that was true to the first Tomb Raider game.
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That’s an interesting point.
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By the thank you for the follow! You have a terrific collection of classics that I have to read as I watch them. I nominated you for the Liebster. Here is the link: http://cinemaholism.com/2020/08/08/liebster-award-nominees-2020/
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You’re welcome! And thank you! So lovely to be nominated, and to be inspiring you to add some things to your watch list.
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The character depiction sound like a downgrade from the Angelina Jolie films. Having followed the games back when she debuted on the original Playstation. Some of the stuff, from your description, seems out of character for her. Guess they wanted something that’s similar the most recent games by Crystal Dynamics, but doesn’t seem like they did their research much.
Everything else sounds like standard stuff for a video game movie adaptation, but somewhat mildly entertaining. Better than these type of movies get. I’ll wait for this to hit some kind of streaming service.
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Yeah, definitely a downgrade. She’s such a great character and the game plots are so great, I’m not sure how they get this stuff wrong! Anyway, definitely better to wait and watch on a streaming service. And if you do, I’d love to hear what you thought? ❤️
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Great review. I liked your character analysis too! She does seem different than the video game…
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Thank you!
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Was underwhelmed by the trailer so I decided to wait for the DVD.
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Definitely the right choice!
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Lara Croft cries? Not in any movie I’d be interested in watching.
Seriously, from your description here, this must be the Inverse Laura. The Anti-Laura.
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Yeah! It’s totally the Anti- Lara! You’re right!
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Why can they not get Lara Croft right? It seems no matter what they do they don’t hit the spot. 🙂
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Such a shame, right?
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It is a shame. It could be so good!
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I read another review weeks ago which said all you have said, but not quite so eloquently. Tomb Raider is meant to be a bit of rip roaring boys tale, with plenty of action and Lara Croft in her sexy shorts. Lara Croft crying.. whatever next!
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Thank you! Glad you liked it. Yeah, it takes all the fun & toughness out of it. Lame.
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Wow, sounds like it really misses its marks as a Tomb Raider game.
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It really misses it mark. Not at all like the game.
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yes game adaptations are often horrible!! great review, I think “Tomb Raider” was fun too but nothing too amazing!
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They’re such a problematic genre. Lol
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