Review of Tomb Raider (2018) by Jin T — 12 Jul 2018

Video game adaptations are hard to come by and I know a lot of people think they're the worst movies ever but a handful of them are actually my personal favorite. The latest Tomb Raider film is one of them. I think we finally have a better adaptation than the one that came out in 2001. Don't get me wrong, that was one was good too but I think I like this one a lot more better. Maybe because I played the video game itself and I've come to like the cinematic version better.

Alicia Vikander is Lara Croft and she does a great portrayal of such a popular video game icon. There is a lot of differences between the cinematic version and the video game version. I'm not talking about the classic Lara Croft but the reboot version. The video game reboot came out in 2013 and its sequel's release was in 2015. Another one coming out in September 2018. If you haven't played the game, try it. But if you're not into them then you don't have to. You can still enjoy Tomb Raider in live action cinematic format.

Alicia Vikander's take on the character is quite different. As I like to call, Cinematic Lara Croft is not quite knowledgeable than the video game character. While both versions are scared and brave at the same time, the cinematic version was a more realistic. Of course the game character is realistic as well but the two have different backgrounds. As I recall, video game Lara Croft was very knowledgeable in many parts regarding history and languages. Was somehow able to use anything around her to take advantage on any difficult situation she's in. Cinematic Lara Croft was a little less of that but here's the thing, I actually like the movie version. However, she may seem to be hiding a lot herself but they can potentially reveal her more if they ever bother to make a sequel. I'd be delighted if they're planning it as a movie trilogy.

There are a few Lara Croft moments. When I mean moments, I mean difficulty situation she has to deal with. Even to survive. Like in the river, the falling rusted plane, and other interesting parts later in the movie. They were a nice nod to what I felt like when I played the game. A huge change was the island with the extreme curse. I didn't think they would go for a more realistic approach. Perhaps they wants to play around a bit with the audience but I would've liked to see some crazy mystical stuff like we all know in the Tomb Raider games. But it seems like I know where they're going to with this Tomb Raider cinematic approach. Which I'm totally fine because it actually works.

The father and daughter part is always an important aspect for Lara Croft. I thought they did pretty good and maybe they felt they need more spotlight on the father and not just tell us that he's dead and that's it. Dominic West did a really good take on the character. In the video game, Lara Croft had some friends with her, who they also were in dangerous situations on the island but this time we got Daniel Wu as Lu Ren. Not much of a friend to Lara Croft but he somewhat helps her.

There are a couple of things I didn't like about the movie. In the beginning of the movie, they told us a short explanation about the island and the legend of Himiko. Then later, it's being explained to us once again. I thought that was a waste of time and it would have been better to see more of Lara Croft venturing in the island. I wanted to see more of that but we didn't get much of it. I thought the action parts would have been more better if they did take parts from the video game. It would really test out cinematic Lara Croft just like her video game counterpart. Other than that, it was still an enjoyable movie. Not great but it was just good.

I think we overlooked with a lot of things regarding the female character that has been in existence since 1996. I do like to see more of Alicia Vikander's portrayal on the character. In its cinematic way, I'm sure they can tackle more better stuff and take some more elements from the video game sequels. I very much enjoyed the movie and got me on the edge of my seat kind of way. With all those intense, thrilling rollercoaster feels from those crazy scenes. They were pretty cool. Hopefully they can improve more, if another sequel is happening.