TOMB RAIDER
Resetting the game
released OUT NOW! 2018 | 12 | Blu-ray (4K/3d/standard)/ DVD
Director roar Uthaug Cast alicia Vikander, daniel Wu, daniel West, Walton Goggins
Lara Croft’s latest flesh and blood incarnation is exactly that: flesh and blood. Inspired by 2013’s gritty reboot game, this is the Uzi-toting, FHM-friendly icon stripped of all that ’90s kitsch to reveal the human being behind the mirror shades and polygons.
Alicia Vikander makes for a bruised, bleeding but determined Lara, raiding a remote island off the coast of Japan where a sorceress is entombed behind some obligatory final act death traps. Vikander – just on the cusp of being altogether too good for the role – shows us the vulnerability behind the treasurechasing heiress while being game enough to plunge into rapids in the name of her art. One of the film’s smaller, more telling moments finds her catching herself after killing a man, an action that’s clearly taken its toll.
Helmer Roar Uthaug made his name with Norwegian disaster epic The Wave and he leans into that sense of physical jeopardy for his Hollywood debut, most obviously in a scene where Lara’s caught in thunderous, boatwrecking seas. Elsewhere a stand-out set-piece sees her struggling to escape from a plane balanced at the edge of a waterfall, fighting her way out as the cockpit breaks apart around her. It’s a skilfully crafted action beat.
But ultimately there’s a shortfall of legitimate thrills in this slice of Indy-lite, and some questionable storytelling choices. Charismatic co-star Daniel Wu ends up sidelined, and while Walton Goggins brings a cerebral chill to the villainous Vogel his employers – a generic mysterious society known as Trinity – feel like placeholder blanks for a real threat. If there’s more Tomb Raiding to come then Lara – and Vikander – deserve something a little more worthy of their skills.
Extras On DVD: a brief Making Of. The Blu-ray adds featurettes on Vikander’s training and a rapids set-piece, along with a short but informative documentary on the character’s pop culture ascent (which scrupulously avoids any mention of the Angelina Jolie movies...) Nick Setchfield
Dominic West plays Richard Croft. He also played Alicia Vikander’s father in 2014’s Testament Of Youth.