Tomb Raider

March 16, 20185 min

When it comes to box office bombs, three words usually come to mind, video game adaptation. That though has never deterred studios from trying and disappointing with the end product. Eventually though you would figure some would see the light and some have indeed, the one that sits on the top of the throne currently is “Laura Croft : Tomb Raider” so it makes sense to reboot that franchise.

Laura Croft (Alicia Vikander) comes from a well to do family but after the disappearance of her father Lord Richard Croft (Dominic West) she has strayed away from that life. She made the choice to live with nothing knowing that if she signed the papers that would turn everything over to her and it would be admitting her father was gone for good. When life pushes her that way she finally gets the courage to sign but before doing so she discovers a key and a note left for her to find by her father. That key leads her to a secret room at Croft Manor and with it a renews a fire to find her father. Using clues she unearths, Laura heads to Hong Kong to find a man who might know her father’s last location. Instead she finds his son Lu Ren (Daniel Wu) who agrees to take her to her desired location. Once they arrive they are almost killed, but are saved by a group led by a man named Mathias Vogel (Walton Goggins), who does not have good intentions. Instead he is who Laura’s father warned her about and she must find a way to stop him from getting what he wants.

I am not going to pretend I have the key to what makes a movie based on a video game successful, sorry to disappoint you. What I can say is that some material is just cinematic and the transition should go pretty smooth. “Tomb Raider” is one such property and that was proven with the success of the first film and somewhat of the second as well. This version is written by Geneva Robwerson-Dworet and Alastair Siddons who go the before Laura Croft was Laura Croft route. Sure she has some skills and takes a lot of risks, but she hasn’t found her real calling quite yet. Stepping into the title role is Vikander who fits perfectly and for me makes me forget who played the role before her. Where “Tomb Raider” shines is in its action where director Roar Uthaug pulls out material that feels straight from the video game.

Watching Vikander run and jump to save her life makes you feel like the only thing you are missing is a controller in your hand. While the action will make you want to stay there is not much substance beyond it and with a cast that includes Vikander and Goggins you should expect more. With that said though you don’t come to see a “Tomb Raider” movie character drama. No you come to see Laura Croft discover something dangerous and get into adventures. This is a fun enough ride that makes you believe there might be a new Laura Croft sitting on top of the video game box office and one who might have a few tombs in her future to raid.

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