New ‘Tomb Raider’ reboot gets off to a rocky start
THE Tomb Raider reboot successfully breathes new life into the franchise. It does away with the over-the-top nature of the previous incarnation and in its place we get a gripping action adventure film.
This is director Roar Uthaug first big budget film, and at times it shows, especially when it comes to some plot holes throughout the film.
The flow of the story is also very predictable: so much so, that because of it, much of the tension and character relationships fall flat.
This is apparent when Lara Croft (Alicia Vikander) and her father, Lord Richard Croft (Dominic West), interact with each other. We aren’t given enough time to care about their relationship because, for the most part, Lord Croft is an absent father with lots of money.
Alicia Vikander, however, stretches her acting skills and distinguishes her depiction of Lara Croft from that of Angelina Jolie. She gives a more subtle approach to the character compared to the over-the-top portrayal of Jolie.
This film also acts more as an origin story for Lara Croft. Normally it gets frustrating having to sit through an origin film of a widely known character. This time around, however, it felt needed since there a marked tonal shift, and Lara is a character re-imagined.
On the writing front, the film is a bit on the stale side. Look, the film is by no means badly written, it’s just a bit bland. It needed more depth and better use of comic timing when jokes were used to lift the mood.
However, the action in the film is spectacular. While it is a tad CGI heavy, it still makes your heart race as you see Lara jump and traverse the jungle and when she gets to do all things you expect in the tomb.
It was also great to see Lara depicted as someone who could be a tomb raider in real life.
While the reboot of the Tomb Raider franchise still has a few issues to sort through, such as having a storyline that isn’t extremely predictable and a villain that lacks depth, it was so refreshing to have a female-led action film with the lead actor who isn’t overly sexualised. This is something that is much needed in the action hero genre.
This really is one of very few video game movies that was enjoyable and for the most part is a coherent film.