Director: Roar Uthaug
Starring: Alicia Vikander, Dominic West, Walton Goggins, Daniel Wu, Kristin Scott Thomas and Nick Frost
Rated: PG
Running Time: 1 Hr, 58 Mins
I never played any of the Tomb Raider video games and I don’t really remember anything from the Angelina movie adaptations. Meaning I don’t have a point of reference for what I’m about to say, but from now on when I think of anything Tomb Raider, Alicia Vikander and this movie are going to be what comes to mind.
Video games have a deplorable track record when it comes to their movie adaptation, but Tomb Raider rises above that horrible batting record. It isn’t a tent pole release by any means, but is a solid little action flick with elements of the Indiana Jones movies.
Video Warner Bros. Pictures
Stubbornly refusing to accept the death of her father, heiress Lara Croft (Vikander) has been scraping out a living in London as a bike courier. On the cusp of legally declaring him dead, she discovers the mission her father was on (and the danger he was facing) when he disappeared. It isn’t long before she’s following a trail of riddles and clues in search of a mythical island and answers about her father’s disappearance.
But things go sideways in a hurry and she finds herself facing the danger her father only heard about in whispers. She soon discovers that what her father was searching for was more real and more dangerous than even he suspected.
Tomb Raider is not a big budget action fest, yet it benefits from its smaller scale. Keeping it small allows it to focus more on the characters, especially Croft. This is essentially Lara’s origin story, revealing her background and the motives that lead to her becoming who she is (something the Jolie movies were pretty vague on, if I remember correctly).
Not only does Vikander sell Croft, but she is the biggest reason to buy a ticket. It’s obvious Vikander invested enormous amounts of time and energy into preparing for the role. She proves quite capable of handling both the rigorous physical demands as well as the emotional ones.
And this isn’t your father’s Lara Croft. She is tough yet tender, sexy yet not sexualized, confident and clever yet filled with doubts (both professional and personal). She makes plenty of mistakes and grows as the movie progresses, learning from her errors. Whether it be losing a fight or failing a riddle, she embraces her failures and grows from them.
Beyond Vikander though, Raider is nearly unremarkable. Outside of Nick Frost (who elicits a few chuckles in his handful of scenes) there aren’t any standout performances. The action is solid (though can we all just take a moment and marvel at the fact that the director’s first name is Roar) and Raider does a good job of using stunts and practical effects instead of CGI, but while there are a few impressive scenes we’ve seen a lot of it before.
Again, don’t expect a big budget blockbuster. If Raider was released during the tent pole summer months it would get eaten alive by the competition al(though August of 2018 is looking pretty bare right now). Is it good enough to launch the franchise Warner Bros. craves (and the movie sets up)? That’s going to depend on the box office, but as long as they keep the movies small, released on reasonable dates and focused on Vikander’s Croft, there’s no reason they can’t make this a small but successful franchise.
Although Warner may have missed a golden opportunity. Raider may suffer the same fate as last year’s Power Rangers. That movie was not only supposed to reimagine the popular 90’s franchise for modern audiences (yet there’s always been some form of Power Rangers show on TV for the last fifteen years or so), but it was also supposed to launch a multi-picture franchise. Word is Sabban and Lionsgate Studios had visions of a six movie series dancing in their heads.
But the movie failed to connect with audiences, either new or nostalgic. Sabban and Lionsgate’s ambitious plans were quickly scrapped and the property now sits in limbo less than a year later.
Tomb Raider may go the same route. Warner may have been smarter to use this movie as a premier of sorts, launching a Tomb Raider web series hosted on Netflix or Hulu. If Warner is still planning on having their own streaming service (outside of their proposed DC one), they could use a Tomb Raider show as a flagship title, similar to how CBS used Star Trek: Discovery to attract subscribers to CBC All Access (or how Disney plans to use their live action Star Wars shows for their upcoming service).
But either way, as a small action movie Tomb Raider is worth it.
