My memories of playing the original Tomb Raider include trying again and again to beat the first part of the game and having absolutely NO IDEA where I needed to go. I was walking around in random caves so long that I said “forget this” and never played that game again. I also swore off the Tomb Raider movies after the 2nd Angelina Jolie debacle. Studios apparently agreed with me. But now we have a rebooted Tomb Raider starring Alicia Vikander, Dominic West, and Walter Goggins. The trailer looked entertaining so I decided to give it a chance (MoviePass-assisted of course).
This rehash of Lara Croft’s adventures follow Vikander’s Lara seven years after the sudden disappearance of her father Richard (West). She has sworn off her inheritance, refusing to believe that her father is truly gone. When she is given a “in the event of my death” totem left behind by her father, she pushes herself into an adventure that follows the path of the last known place he had been seen.
Video game films have an epic history of failure (*assassinscoughcreedcough*). The movies either lean way too heavily on what the games were, or they resemble absolutely nothing from the playing experience. What Tomb Raider does surprisingly well is create a happy medium. It made for an entertaining action-adventure film while seamlessly inserting scenes that made the audience feel like they were in the middle of playing the game. It never felt like two different experiences. I felt myself getting achievements for getting from point A to B without being discovered, for solving the a puzzle to get to the next level, and for hitting the X button right on time in the run-and-jump quick time sequences. This movie could have worked well as an experiment giving audience members controllers while watching the movie.
It was great to finally see these video game tropes utilized without being taken out of the movie-watching experience. Unfortunately, it not only had action sequences like a Tomb Raider game, but it also had a plot like one. From the first monologue of the film, the narrative was filled with epic machinations that are only heard while playing PS4 or Xbox One. The film was filled with macguffins (look it up, I had to before I wrote it) that triggered Lara’s actions with “ancient chasms of demons’ souls traveling through the Devil’s sea headed by a shadow organization hell bent on world domination with an army of 1000 undead handmaidens who sacrificed themselves to gain the power of the trials of the Lady of the Holy Grail of the sands of time”. I guarantee you hear every single one of those words somewhere in this film. Then, there is a 20-minute span where Vikander’s dialogue consists only of:
*loud scream*, *groan*, “Really!”, *exasperated sigh*,
*terrified scream*, “NO!”, *relieved sigh*, *tired groan*
Luckily, every time the movie ventured a little too far into the traps of previous video game films, the performances brought you back just enough to forgive these pitfalls.
Vikander shined as a pre-adventurer Lara Croft. Jolie’s version always felt a little too “will never get hurt by anything or ever fail” immortal superheroine. Vikander’s Lara felt more human. She lent a lot more emotion and vulnerability to this performance, especially with the loving relationship that was palpable between her and her father. The movie leaned hard on that relationship, and it helped to balance out the more outlandish narrative plot points. The standout, however, was Walter Goggins. His portrayal of Mathias Vogel presented him as a lackey of the shadow organization Trinity. A man who hates where he works. Who just wants to go home. After 7 years. And is just tired. So tired that he has no f’s to give. So few to give that murder and genocide doesn’t seem so bad. Goggins played it so subtly exceptional that you felt for him. If Tomb Raider’s antagonist was represented as the “rule the world” Trinity corporation, the movie would have been a lot less relatable.
In the end, Tomb Raider was a fun watch. There were plenty of instances where I asked whether the trials she put herself and her companions through were worth all the trouble. But the personality, emotion, and relationships that the actors brought to their roles made me say “um, I guess so”. I give Tomb Raider 6/10 perfect runs through Stage 3 of American Ninja Warrior, because Lara Croft apparently has the best grip strength in the history of all mankind.
