Tomb Raider Review
PG-13: Sequences of violence and action, and for some language
Warner Bros. Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, GK Films, Square Enix
1 Hr and 58 Minutes
Dir: Roar Uthaug | Writers::Geneva Dworet-Robertson, Alastair Siddons
Cast: Alicia Vikander, Dominic West, Walton Goggins, Daniel Wu, Sir Derek Jacobi, Kristin Scott Thomas
INTRO: As a critic, video game film adaptations are the bane of my existence. Somehow they all find a way to test my patience. For God’s sake, the best video game movie of 2016 was The Angry Birds Movie and that was the same year we received Assassin’s Creed, Warcraft and Ratchet & Clank. To this day, not one video game film adaptation has made me go “wow, that was surprisingly good.” Though I am not there just yet, I will start off this review by stating that Tomb Raider is a surprisingly good first step.
Lara Croft (Alicia Vikander) is the fiercely independent daughter of an eccentric adventurer who vanished when she was scarcely a teen. Now a young woman of 21 without any real focus or purpose, Lara navigates the chaotic streets of trendy East London as a bike courier, barely making the rent. Determined to forge her own path, she refuses to take the reins of her father’s global empire just as staunchly as she rejects the idea that he’s truly gone. 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. But her mission will not be an easy one; just reaching the island will be extremely treacherous. Suddenly, the stakes couldn’t be higher for Lara, who—against the odds and armed with only her sharp mind, blind faith and inherently stubborn spirit—must learn to push herself beyond her limits as she journeys into the unknown. If she survives this perilous adventure, it could be the making of her, earning her the name tomb raider.
THE GOOD
Alicia Vikander has kicked ass in several feature films, so it’s no surprise she does a great job portraying the titular character in her first leading franchise. Just like her rebooted counterpart, she isn’t sexualized in any way. She doesn’t don skimpy clothing and she has no love interest. Croft is just a woman on a mission and you’re with her every step of the way. Vikander portrays her with a balanced amount of emotion and strength. Granted, even though Croft isn’t that dimensional as a character, she does have a decent character development. This is her origin story and, for the most part, it’s a damned good one.
The story picks up once Croft leaves London and heads to Hong Kong to solve the mystery of her missing father. Each action sequence (excluding the first) is choreographed with a good amount of creativity that isn’t just intense, but primarily pertains elements from the source material. Remember how in the game Lara had to make split second decisions and you, as the player, had to press a button on a certain cue to advance and prevent her from getting killed? A lot of first-person adventure games follow this mechanic nowadays, but you never see it displayed onscreen in a feature until now.
Director Roar Uthaug maintains faithfulness to the Square Enix reboot games by having Croft make those split second decisions that save her from being killed in the matter of seconds. This might as well be a perfect walkthrough for a M-rated game in the form of a PG-13 film. The film may have a PG-13 rating, but Uthaug does test his boundaries where the violence is often bloody and sometimes graphic. When someone gets shot by either a gun or an arrow, you see the blood spurts and it’s sometimes shocking given it’s modest rating.
What elevates this to be a much better reboot than the original is the size and scale of the adventure Lara is on. She isn’t a badass who has all the same skills and gadgetry her previous carnation had. Jolie’s Croft was practically a female James Bond, but in a tomb. Vikander’s Croft isn’t that. The craftsmanship (or Croftsmanship) that went into the production design is excellent. The majority of the movie takes place on an island where danger lurks around every corner. When Croft has to enter the tomb, the intensity is consistent where the traps are far more deadly. You can feel that, at any given moment, Croft could actually get killed. If the island isn't out to kill Croft then it's Walton Goggins (who is amazingly threatening in this) as Mathias Vogel. You couldn’t really attach yourself to Jolie’s Croft because you knew she was going to be fine. The stakes weren’t that high because she had all the gadgets to get her out of every situation. Vikander's Croft doesn't have gadgetry for she has to survive off of her combat skills and weapons she sees along the way and construct something useful out of them.
THE BAD
As much as I’m praising the action-adventure thrills the film has, it takes a loooooong while for us to get there. The first 15 minutes borrows heavily from several early 2000s action flicks, specifically xXx where Lara is doing extreme sports in the middle of London. The woman is an adrenaline junkie and we get that, but there is no reason to characterize her as a rebellious, stubborn hothead. It doesn’t help that the music blaring in the background is the same rock/EDM hybrid song that you usually hear during chase scenes. The editing follows suit to the 2000s filmmaking aesthetic where you get the quick dolly zoom reaction shots before a character runs into a car.
It isn’t truly until Croft gets out of London that the story picks up and the fun begins. The action sequences become exciting and we see Croft encounter danger around every corner. Everything after the first act and through to the finale is quite a fun popcorn adventure flick. When the adventure is done, the movie unnecessarily finishes on a sour note that forcibly sets itself up for a sequel while establishing a plot twist.
THE RENDY
If you begin to complain about how I didn’t compare Alicia Vikander’s performance to Angelina Jolie’s, then keep it moving because I can’t compare the two. Here’s the thing: this 2018 Tomb Raider reboot movie is the adaptation of the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot game. This movie is faithful to the 2013 reboot game as much as the original 2001 Tomb Raider movie is faithful to the 1996 original Tomb Raider game. These games are two different entities with their own style, mechanics, and functionalities, so there’s little reason to compare the two. The only thing that remains the same is the title. Comparing this to the 2001 film is as redundant as comparing the first Star Trek movie to the 2009 reboot.
From a directional standpoint, Tomb Raider actually has me hopeful for future video game movies. Directors and studios should take note of how a game should be translated to the big screen. If the Uncharted movie can follow the same formula as this, but have a tight and well-constructed first act and epilogue, then you would have your FIRST GOOD VIDEO GAME MOVIE! But, for the time being, Tomb Raider 2018 is the closest we’re going to get.
LAST STATEMENT
Despite its poorly-paced first act and mediocre conclusion, Tomb Raider is a thrillingly fun rollercoaster ride of a reboot — and might be the best video game movie adaptation to date.
Rating: 3/5 | 64%
Super Scene: Croft vs. Nature
