Review of Tomb Raider (2018) by Ryan H — 23 Mar 2018

I couldn't believe it until I saw it. They actually made a video game movie that's genuinely good. Mortal Kombat is good in that "cheesy 90s" way, and other video game movies have been watchable, but none of them were actually great.

Tomb Raider may not stray far from the origin story formula and it does suffer from some of the same problems as other movies based on video games, but it more than makes up for it. Alicia Vikander embodies Lara Croft better than Angelina Jolie ever could, and like a female video game version of John Wick, she bucks most of the typical action hero cliches in the process.

Instead of always being victorious, she loses fights. When she goes crashing through the jungle, she doesn't have perfect hair upon landing. Rather than being invincible, she gets hurt, and those injuries have lasting effects.

What's more, she shows real emotion. When facing extreme danger - whether it's falling hundreds of feet, trying to escape a ship that's breaking apart, or crawling on and through a 70+ year old crashed plane - she shows genuine fear.

Most importantly, like Superman in Man of Steel, she actually has a realistic emotional reaction when she is forced to kill someone. Additionally, Dominic West (is it just me or does he look a lot like Hugh Jackman?) does a great job as Richard Croft, and Walton Goggins puts his own spin on a slightly unhinged guy who's willing to kill so he can see his family.

Overall, Tomb Raider is genuinely great, and arguably the best video game movie so far.