If all it took was for me wanting to see another film with Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft for the new reboot of Tomb Raider to be considered a success, then I suppose it’s a success. Unfortunately, despite some bright spots and a promise of better things to come, the film does leave a lot to be desired. Though, it’s nothing that can’t be improved if a sequel were to come because the areas where the film shines are points where it seemed for a fleeting moment that the apparent “video game curse” has finally been lifted.
Alicia Vikander is a more than capable actress, and she brings an excitement and vulnerability to the character. Riffing on the recent games’ more gritty take on the character allows Vikander to bring a certain humanity to the role that probably wouldn’t have been considered previously. Even if the generic plotting and barebones characterizations do eventually overcome the film, there’s still images that have stayed with me, largely due to her unwavering commitment. Be it the quiet reflections on the memories of her missing – presumed dead – father (Dominic West), or the look of terror and shrieks of pain that follows the discovery of a stick that has pierced her abdomen after a rather spectacular – if unfathomably brutal – escape from danger. There’s a very John McClane-esque everyman element to this iteration of Lara Croft, along with taking some cues from the recent Atomic Blonde, which shows every bruise, blister, blemish on its female hero as she cruises through action setpieces.
Norwegian director, Roar Uthaug, clearly did his research (or at least the VFX team sure did) when it came to the new games. The way the camera glides through the chaos of Hong Kong harbors and jungle terrain is very evocative of the third-person video game perspective, even occasionally feeling like we’re witnessing a quicktime event unfolding on the big screen. He does a very good job at blending the language of video games with action cinema, building obstacle on top of obstacle throughout the film. Lara is never given an easy way out, and her own frustrations, confusion, and struggle echoes that of my own experiences playing the game.
These aspects of the film make up most of the middle portion of the film, once Lara and her new, drunken, sailor friend, Lu Ren (Daniel Wu) are crashed onto a mysterious island and find themselves captured by Mathias Vogel (Walton Goggins), who is on the island looking for the same thing Lara is. While the tropes are ever present during this middle portion, there is a real sense of adventure and suspense, and it is full of homages to the game. The film find its footing here, and when the action begins, it becomes relentless.
However, the excitement doesn’t last very long. The film is bookended with one side being pure exposition, making you anxious for everything to kick into gear, while the other end is a somewhat deflating ending that undercuts a somewhat emotionally satisfying (if largely hollow) arc for Lara’s relationship with her father with a sequence that begs the audience to be pumped for a sequel in such a desperate manner that it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. The sequence in question also recreates a moment from the most recent game, which puts emphasis on an evil, underground organization, who I always found to be the most dull aspect of the reboot franchise. However, we are in the age of the superhero blockbuster, so it is in no way surprising to see Tomb Raider take a few notes from its peers when it comes to setting up future installments.
Tomb Raider is a mixed bag, but it’s one I’m glad I saw. It’s a film that is in need of a real point-of-view, and a bit more depth beyond the superficial aesthetics of the new games. It never quite lives up to the energy that Vikander brings, and it suffers as a result. Even the Angelina Jolie films of the early 2000s were more well-defined in their identity, and had more confidence in their ridiculousness. Perhaps it was a mistake to make this a full blown origin story, but I would’ve preferred to be dropped into a whole new adventure, not unlike how we first meet Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark in a mission already in progress. If a sequel were to be made, there’s ample opportunity to breathe some life into the characters, aside from Lara Croft. This franchise has somehow managed to endure over 20 years of popularity, a not-so-great movie is not going to put a dent on its place in pop culture. There is some entertainment to be had here, but like the Tomb Raider herself, you’ll have to really dig deep and hope the risk is worth the reward.