Tomb Raider Review

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

There's something weird about this movie. It's not the worst video game adaptation ever, yet it's still very lacking in its story, the brutal survivalist nature of the game, and how it handles the character of Lara Croft. The problems are made very evident early on, and while it tries to redeem itself in the third act, its struggles are more or less in vain.

Let's make one thing clear. Alicia Vikander is a good choice for the role, despite initial thoughts that Daisy Ridley would have been better. However, it's perhaps a good thing that she was not given the option, as the plot eventually goes the route of a recent Star Wars movie and the character is resorted to barely more than an observer. Now, this is based on the 2013 soft reboot, where Lara Croft is starting out as an explorer extraordinaire, so it makes sense that she would make near-fatal mistakes. However, there's a difference between establishing a character and making them a shell of what they are. Taking a scene from Hong Kong, she doesn't speak the language and has trouble finding a boat. A group of boys pretends to help her out, but they end up stealing her bag. She chases them down and gets it back, but then she's chased by the gang until Lu Ren saves her via drunken shooting. I don't want to come off as a video game elitist, but the Lara Croft I'm familiar with would be fluent in Cantonese, and wouldn't have let them get close to her bag. If they pulled a knife on her, she would have taken them down faster than they could blink. The movie beats us over the head with how smart and strong she is, yet somehow she's dumb enough to get her bag stolen and doesn't stand her ground when threatened. Also, in the game, she's looking for the island because she wants to explore the world and find legendary artifacts, but here, it's a case of Dead Dad Syndrome. She's instructed to destroy all evidence regarding her father's last expedition, but instead, uses it to find him. She's captured, and the villain of the movie gets a hold of her journal, giving him everything he needs to find the tomb. When her father does make an appearance and berates her for not following his instructions, we end up agreeing with him, because if she hadn't gone looking for the tomb, the bad guys would have never found it. This is when the movie goes Last Jedi; an elderly man refusing to leave an island in order to keep an evil organization from finding power. Again, it's a good thing Daisy Ridley didn't get the part.

Now, this movie is not without its positives, mainly the supporting cast of Daniel Wu as Lu Ren, and Walton Goggins as Mathias Vogel. Wu is a strong, capable sidekick to Vikander's Lara Croft without being resorted to a two-dimensional love interest. Should this movie get a sequel, his return is a must. Goggins steals the show as Vogel, a member of a shadowy organization called Trinity, whose character feels straight out of an Indiana Jones film. He's intimidating, collected, and incredibly smart. He uses Lara's father as a bargaining chip to open the tomb but also taps into her innate curiosity of what's inside. It's too bad he gets killed off by the end, but for what it's worth, he delivers a solid performance. The traps are fairly impressive as well, including spikes that come up and impale unsuspecting explorers, floors that collapse unless the correct jewel is placed in the door, and spiked blocks that crush intruders. Had there been more focus on Lara Croft's survival, rather than her finding her father and immediately returning to the camp, this segment alone would have made up for the lackluster beginning.

Unfortunately, this movie makes the same mistake as Assassin's Creed. Its source material is rated M, but the adaptation is PG-13. This means the brutal nature isn't allowed to thrive for maximum impact, which is what makes the development of Lara Croft from explorer to full-on survivalist so special. In other words, what is primarily an adult-oriented property is watered down for maximum blockbuster appeal.

When all is said and done, Tomb Raider is a mediocre adventure flick with a strong supporting cast, an underwhelming heroine, a bland plot, and some decent action. If there's one thing this movie has going for it, if nothing else, it's a so-so movie that manages to capture the general idea of the game, if not the spirit. It's a bad adaptation, but it's not a bad movie, and as far as video game movies go, that's better than the alternative.

Rating: Cheap Seats