Girl power fantasy reaches next level
TOMB RAIDER (12A, 118 mins)
LARA Croft, the underdressed heroine of the Tomb Raider video game franchise, is a survivor.
More than 20 years after she somersaulted on to the original PlayStation, the pixelated British archaeologist continues to chokehold gender stereotypes on new consoles.
She has inspired comic books and defied the laws of physics in two lacklustre Hollywood adaptations, which shoehorned Angelina Jolie into Lara’s iconic vest and shorts.
Now it’s the turn of Swedish Oscar-winner Alicia Vikander to imbue the acrobatic globe-trotter with tortured melancholy in a big-budget origin story, directed by Roar Uthaug.
Geneva RobertsonDworet and Alastair Siddons’ script is reverse-engineered from a spectacular slam-bang finale, which permits Lara to delve into her bag of daredevil tricks – clambering, sprinting and somersaulting around a booby trap-laden temple as architecturally unsound floors and ceilings give way around her.
The dramatic calm before this special-effects laden storm is a surprisingly pedestrian affair, punctuated by tensionsapping flashbacks as well as historical hokum and secret society shenanigans worthy of The Da Vinci Code.
Entrepreneur Lord Richard Croft (Dominic West) leads a double life as a protector of hidden ancient artefacts. He vanishes during an expedition to the tomb of Japanese empress Himiko, who unleashed death on her people with a single touch of her hand.
Seven years pass and Lord Croft’s daughter Lara (Vikander) refuses to sign papers declaring him dead or take up the reins of her father’s business empire.
Haunted by the past, Lara travels to Hong Kong to charter a boat and make the treacherous journey to an uninhabited island in the Devil’s Sea.
Lara subsequently clashes with sadistic archaeologist Mathias Vogel (Walton Goggins) and exposes an ancient organisation which seeks control of supernatural antiquities.
Tomb Raider is a lithe thrill ride that improves on Jolie’s lamentable tours of duty as Lara Croft. Vikander wrings out her heroine’s inner turmoil in touching scenes that bookmark overblown set-pieces and slow-motion leaps across gaping chasms.
Uthaug’s picture isn’t game over for further escapades with Lara, nor does it emphatically kick ass – it’s more of a polite spanking.