Lara Croft is the fiercely independent daughter of an eccentric adventurer who vanished when she was scarcely a teen. Now a young woman of 21, and being advised to move forward after seven years without him, she gets pulled in to finally solve the puzzle of her father's mysterious death.
Leaving everything she knows behind, Lara goes in search of her dad’s last-known destination: a fabled tomb on a mythical island that might be somewhere off the coast of Japan.
REVIEW:
The reboot of Tomb Raider is an exciting action ride, and bumpy parts aside, the movie delivers on the fun.
Following the successful reboot of the video games when in 2013 Tomb Raider was released, the movie studios felt that maybe it was time to do the same for the movie character. Although not necessary to have played the video games, the film draws inspiration and references from the popular 2013 video game.
Actress Alicia Vikander in the new ‘Tomb Raider’ movie, her first blockbuster role.
Tomb Raider is an action-packed adventure and in many ways tells the Lara Croft origin story. Lara Croft, now portrayed by Oscar winner Alicia Vikander, digs into how Lara became the legendary tomb raider.
The movie gives us an origin story, but one with as much scope and scale as what the first two movies had.
While many will still remember the Angelina Jolie version of the character, Vikander does take on the role and makes it her own. She brings more vulnerability to her iteration of the character but still has the street smarts and bravado that her character is known for.
The Angeline Jolie films had equal amounts of comedy to the action that took place, while this new film has more drama and action with moments of comedy sprinkled in.
Vikander handles the moments of comedy well, and the action doesn't feel out of her capabilities. Given that's it's the actress's first blockbuster film, she does an impressive job and gives an intense but well-delivered performance. The movie does have elaborate action sequences, but they feel rooted in the character's capability.
While the film does take a while to set up her story before digging into the action, it was a cognizant choice by director Roar Uthaug (“The Wave”). The film takes its time setting up the type of person Lara Croft is, before putting her in situations where we're meant to root for her.
The film also has an interesting villain, who while often times feels one-note, does have his own motivations. Walter Goggins does an admirable job with the role, but then there are parts where it feels like the movie could have given him more to do.
Daniel Wu “Lu Ren,” a Hong Kong boat captain who helps Lara on her mission to get to the island and becomes a friend along the way. Wu's character does feel like the eventual love interest for Croft, but the movie thankfully doesn't go down that route. However, should future instalments be made, it's clear that that is where the pairing will be going.
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Daniel Wu, left, and Alicia Vikander in a scene from "Tomb Raider." (Ilze Kitshoff/Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
The action scenes are handled with a steady pace, always serves the story and characters. Lara’s physicality and endurance get put through its paces, but all of which is underscored by the emotional aspects of her journey as she is trying to find her place move forward while tackling her past.
There are moments of the movie where the pacing feels a little off, and where the moments of comedy could have been refined, but these don't distract too heavily from the film itself. The movie does feel long, but it feels warranted given the scope of what the movie hopes to accomplish. Many action movies often jump into the action without much setup, butTomb Raider doesn't do this, and it pays off for the movie.
Tomb Raider, does live up to its name where Lara is cornered into going to a tomb, and the movie does an exciting job of unravelling central mystery.
The reboot is a worthwhile origin story and delivers a very fun 2-hour film worthy of the trip to the cinema.
@thelionmutters