Tomb Raider (Film)

While Tomb Raider has existed since 1996, I didn’t really play any of the games until the 2013 reboot, Tomb Raider (2013), and its sequels, Rise of the Tomb Raider and Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Though they had flaws, I evidently enjoyed them enough to keep up with the series and felt interested in watching the 2018 film, Tomb Raider (2018). As with the games, I didn’t watch the other two Tomb Raider films with Angelina Jolie, so I didn’t have any expectations when I finally watched this film through Vudu. As both a video game adaptation and an action-adventure film, it’s not the worst but definitely needed some improvement.

From the beginning, the story of the film already diverges from that of the game it’s based on. In the film, Lara Croft (Alicia Vikander) has become a bike courier following the disappearance of her father, Lord Richard Croft (Dominic West), but is arrested when she crashes into a police car during a race. When she’s bailed out by Ana Miller (Kristin Scott Thomas), Richard’s business partner, Lara is convinced to sign the papers for her inheritance to maintain control over Croft Manor and the family’s assets. Lara reluctantly agrees and stumbles on a secret message from her father, which leads her to a secret chamber in her father’s tomb. There she finds a pre-taped message from her father explaining his research into Himiko, the mythical queen of Yamatai, and her curse. Although Richard tells her to immediately destroy his research, Lara ignores this advice and decides to investigate further.

Despite the major difference in the premise from the original game, as well as introducing the antagonistic Trinity from Rise of the Tomb Raider, the premise still had potential for an interesting story. It kept the core elements of Lara’s character intact, including her wealthy background and interest in adventure, and the audience gets more of Lord Richard Croft than in the games. However, the story also relies on contrivances and poor decision-making from the characters to function. Lara stumbles into a problem of her own design, mainly from ignoring her father’s wishes, which unintentionally gives Trinity exactly what they want. Certain situations also felt too manufactured, like how Lara Croft obtains her iconic bow and arrow from the reboot games or how Lara gets into a disadvantage during the final fight scene.

The lure of the mystery of Himiko is too great
for Lara Croft (Alicia Vikander) to ignore.

While I did find the special effects pretty well done and the set pieces rather interesting, including one where she navigates a rusted-out plane precariously perched over a waterfall, some moments made little sense the more I thought about them. These primarily involve the titular tomb that they raid during the latter half of the film, with elaborate traps that, while creative, don’t feel as believable in a live-action context as they would in a video game. Not that I expect complete realism in a video game adaptation, but the more grounded setting, which did tone down the supernatural elements from the original game, had me asking more questions than I would when watching Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, an action film with fantasy elements, or Silent Hill, a supernatural psychological horror.

On the upside, the actors did a solid job. While I have no frame of reference for Angelina Jolie’s take on Lara Croft, Alicia Vikander is a pretty good actress and felt like a good fit for the reboot’s interpretation of the character. Among the other cast members, Nick Frost stole both of his scenes with his hilarious performance as a pawn shop owner who has clearly seen and heard it all.

In an era where video game adaptations have steadily improved, Tomb Raider falls short of its own potential. With a sequel in the works, I hope that it learns from the mistakes made by this film and improves on them to make something that can be viewed as more than just a video game adaptation. In the meantime, it’s the closest you’ll get to an Uncharted movie before the actual Uncharted movie comes out.