3.5/5 Star Rating
Plot
Seven years after the disappearance and assumed death of her father, Lord Richard Croft (Dominic West), Lara (Alicia Vikander) is living her quiet 'normal' life in London while working as a bicycle courier and training in boxing sessions at her local gym. Lara is arrested after an accident which involves a police vehicle and her father's business partner Ana Miller (Darkest Hour actress - Kristin Scott Thomas) then posts her bail. She encourages Lara to legally claim her inheritance before her father's estate is sold. After gaining access to her father's hidden office, she discovers secrets that he had kept hidden for years, she embarks on an adventure in search of the tomb of Queen Himiko - a ruler also known as 'The Mother of Death'.
The Tomb Raider franchise was first welcomed to the world back in 1996, when the game of the same name was originally released on the Sega Saturn game console. Just a tad vintage. The games featured the iconic British, female adventurer Lara Croft. Many more games have since been released following the huge success of the early editions. Some have even been remastered to be played on newer consoles including Sony's Playstation 3 and Playstation 4. Lara Croft also became somewhat of a sex symbol in the ever expanding pop culture. The fictional character is well known for wearing very little clothing while showcasing an "ideal" appearance with a slim, toned body, full pouted lips and rather large breasts which were amusing and unforgettable in the early games as they appeared to be triangular in shape and rather pert in game play.
2018 is not the first year that shows Lara on the big screen. The character has been brought to life twice before by Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie. At the time she was the perfect casting choice for the role. She looked very much like Lara Croft and had been known to do well in action roles. Jolie played the role in 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider' in 2001 and again in a sequel titled 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life' in 2003. Both films were exactly what fans would expect to see in a movie adaptation of their favourite game. Although for me the sequel was no where near as good as the first film. Both films took more in the box office than any other game-adaptation features ever known.
It was back in 2016 that the news broke of another upcoming film based on the popular game. Not another sequel to the previous two films, but an entire reboot with a different story and a new Lara. Fans including myself were left wondering who would be in line to portray the famous character. We didn't have to wait too long to find out that Swedish actress Alicia Vikander has been chosen for the role. These were indeed big boots to fill, leaving a lot of people feeling uneasy about the new casting choice. Vikander had already appeared in film roles including A.I. character Ava in 'Ex-Machina', and Gerda alongside the brilliant Eddie Redmayne in 'The Danish Girl'.
The plot for this 2018 version of the film is based on the story of the 2013 game. So technically it's a reboot of a reboot. Both the game and this film showcase a very different Lara Croft. The creators have ditched the well known glitchy and sexy Lara and re-designed her to appear athletic and more natural. Vikander's character makes sure that she is seen in a new and different light by often stating to people “I’m not that kind of Croft”. Just as she does in the 2013 version of the game.
The story itself is a fairly intriguing one. It brings suspense, drama action and more! What I personally liked most about this adaptation is that we see Lara as a normal, vulnerable human being as we see her beginning her personal journey on her way to becoming the Lara Croft that the world knows from the original video games. She gets injured (quite a few times), she is scared and inexperienced in the scenarios that she finds herself facing. She is impulsive, determined and courageous, but Vikander's character isn't an automatic badass. Which in all honesty, I really liked.
Walton Goggins is the film's 'bad guy'. He plays the character of Mathias Vogel, a hunter type role, who has been stranded on the island of Yamatai for seven years. He is under strict orders stating that he can only leave the island when he has retrieved the remains of Queen Himiko. The character is portrayed well, even just looking at his facial expressions and his mannerisms it is clear to see that he is not a man to mess with. Other characters worth mentioning are Daniel Wu's Lu Ren - a drunken sailor, who ultimately becomes Lara's right hand man while on their adventures. Also Kristin Scott Thomas' character Ana Miller. She appears to be some sort of legal guardian for Lara and also some sort of business associate of Richard Croft (West). At the beginning of the film she's sparsely utilised, but the end of the film shows that she has far more involvement than initially shown.
If you haven't seen this film yet then there is a spoiler coming about the outcome of the film, so if you don't like spoilers then maybe read this after seeing the film for yourself. Lara is encouraged by a video message from her father to burn all of the information that he has discovered about the 'myth' behind the Mother of Death. Instead she decides to use the information to find out just where her father had actually ventured out to and to try to deduce why this tomb was so important. Ultimately the entire film is indeed about preserving life as we know it. What is the colour that is associated with life? It's green. During the length of the film there is a continuous green theme. Lara's amulet pendant given to her as a child by her father appears to be carved from the gemstone Malachite - which is green. There is also a bike race in which Lara participates where she leaves a trail of paint in order to leave a trail to then be chased by other cyclists so they are able to catch her. It's based on a fox hunt. When she pierces the tin of paint that is attached to her bicycle, the paint that pours out of the tin is also green in colour. Lastly for this continuing theme she faces a puzzle within the tomb of Himiko where she and others are standing on a floor that is falling from under their feet. To stop the floor from falling she has to solve a puzzle using coloured crystals from within the area they are standing. The answer to the puzzle is life. Lara combines both the yellow and blue crystals available to her to make, you've guessed it, the colour green. I thought this was quite a clever problem solving element to add to the film.
As expected, there were quite a lot of references within the film to the games. There are scenes which feature the leading lady with her hair in her signature plait, holding two hand held guns and even a scene which looks almost identical to the 2013 game where she leaps from a boat and into water of the stormy seas.
The end of the film does finish on a bit of a cliffhanger and it also leaves the film wide open for the possibility of a sequel or maybe even a trilogy. If you think this is going to be constantly action packed then you may be a little disappointed. Alicia Vikander dominated the film's screen time and the role that she was given. I highly doubt that this is not the last that we will see of her as the ultimate female adventurer and this is just the beginning of Lara Croft's journey and her personal story.
(Images used are courtesy of Google)