Review of Tomb Raider (2018) by Jon C — 17 Mar 2018

It's been over 20 years since the Tomb Raider games made their mark on pop culture.

After 2 films and a rebooted version for the next generation of players Lara Croft makes her way back to the big screen in a whole new way.

Alicia Vikander takes on the iconic role but starting with her origin story before becoming the infamous Tomb Raider.

The filmmakers borrow a lot of elements from the 2013 version of the games and it's truly rooted more in a rougher, grittier, more real-world setting.

Lara's father has gone missing after 7 years looking for a magic empress named Himiko on an island called Yamatai, he also left his research found by a militant group called Trinity seeking to control all humankind.

At first Lara wants nothing to do with her inheritance but after finding a clue about his discovery she believes he may still be alive.

She then charters a course to find the island in the middle of the ocean and is captured by a man named Mathias Vogel who wants to find the tomb to get back home but unleashing something deadly in the process.

Lara then finds out the danger her father was put in to conceal it from Trinity.

Vikander commands the screen playing Lara Croft; she's tough, strong, resilient, and can take a beating in any shape or form whether jumping from a crashed plane or learning to take up archery.

Dominic West expertly plays her father always thinking of her despite the fact that he left to keep her safe and she just wants him to come home.

Walter Goggins as Mathias believes he's not doing any harm to the world but only to find this tomb so he can make it back, he's also very dismissive of the line between reality and myth, he's a decent enough antagonist.

The film has some very intense action scenes, picks up the pace after the first half, and could ultimately create a new franchise if the filmmakers play their cards right.

Angelina Jolie kept up the adventurous, sex-symbol image of Lara at the time but with Vikander Tomb Raider can now be this action heroine for young boys and girls braving the elements while valuing the family ones, too.

This is a true sign of hope as far as video game-to-film adaptations go.

Let's pray they can keep it that way.