Tomb Raider (DVD)

(out of 4) Starring Alicia Vikander, Dominic West, Walton Goggins, Kristin Scott Thomas and Daniel Wu. Directed by Roar Uthaug. Out June 12 on DVD. 118 minutes. PG It’s still a relative rarity to have an action franchise with a female lead, so a restart of Tomb Raider qualifies for unicorn status.

Alicia Vikander’s sleek Lara Croft is out for serious adventure, not gamer fetishizing, although I prefer Angelina Jolie’s smartass take on the videogame character, as seen in the original films from the turn of the millennium.

If the “why” of this movie passes muster, there remains the more difficult “what” query. Is director Roar Uthaug ( The

Wave) going in for serious drama, as the casting of Vikander and supporting star Kristin Scott Thomas suggests? Or is he bent on doing just another liveaction version of a popular game, as castmates Dominic West, Walton Goggins and Daniel Wu imply with their cannedham macho characters?

Uthaug’s struggle to find motivation may have to do with a screenplay that’s laden with verbal and visual clichés, and frequently just downright silly. Did we not learn from last year’s Tom Cruise disaster The Mum

my that a plot revolving around reviving an entombed witch is something well short of spellbinding?

Extras include several making-of featurettes.