The new Tomb Raider film released today is edging close to that final definitive video game adaptation movie that’s good without reservations. It doesn’t quite get there but it’s filmed with more competence and has better acting than almost any previous attempt made. I know that’s a low bar, sure. The first Angelina Jolie Tomb Raider from 2001 is slightly more fun just because its so much more campy and Jolie clearly knows what kind of film it is… but the new film is all around a better movie, if that makes sense.
The new film is based on the 2013 reboot of the Tomb Raider franchise where Lara Croft is more human, inexperienced, and takes a beating (and, yes, has more believable body, a trait shared by Alicia Vikander). It tells a very similar story to that game but has a few twists and turns that will surprise (and apparently anger) gamers while everyone else will just see another action flick.
The one huge thing the film gets right is hiring Alicia Vikander to play Lara Croft. She looks a lot like the reboot but, more importantly, she acts. She emotes. There’s a small moment after she kills her first person where you can see the torment on her face and that’s to her credit as well as the director’s to have left it in. She also seems to be doing a lot of the physical action and the makeup team makes sure she gets dirty, sweaty, and scratched up. She’s inexperienced and it shows but she’s not incompetent so you don’t get frustrated feeling like she’s a wilting flower. It isn’t a glamorous role and, again, credit to everyone involved (and loyalty to the game).
The only other actor that deserves recognition is the mostly underwritten bad guy. I think the actor (Walter Goggins) plays him with a unique exasperation that might not have been in the script. This is a man who has spent years on a deserted island looking for treasure that he doesn’t personally care about or believe in… but he knows if he gets it, he can go home. And that’s all he wants. The actor plays him as a definite violent villain but also with a sense of despondency. He’s tired, he’s over all this, and if he has to shoot a few people if he can see little girls again, he’ll shoot some people.
The action scenes are… pretty good. You can tell the director knows how to put these scenes together… he has real talent. They aren’t great and a few of them early on just get in the way of moving the story along, yet they are still well director and edited. It’s a little weird that this is a perfectly capable action film that doesn’t quite rise to the occasion but gets real close.
But the real problem is ultimately the story and some of the later pacing. It’s not that the story is bad… it’s too simple to be bad, I guess. It’s just that it’s very rote… you’ve seen the half-hearted attempts at a compelling adventure story before. It’s good enough to string together some decent action set pieces but not really good enough to make a hearty recommendation.
So, yes, if this review read a little lukewarm, that’s because it is. I think this is a perfectly competent action film anchored by a very good performance (and a certain loving fondness – but not slavish devotion to the video game source material). Good enough action, a passable story, and great performance by an actress who is up for whatever. Oh, and with abs that any guy would kill for… jeesh she must have worked OUT for this film.
Score: 80