Call me a “bad gamer,” but I haven’t played a Tomb Raider game since the 90’s. It’s not for a lack of interest as much as a lack of time. The new games all look fantastic and I’m always scrambling to find room in my schedule to fit in something fun.
Although I haven’t actually played the latest installments to the series, I have nothing but the deepest respect for what I have seen of them. It’s as if they distilled everything that was great about those old Playstation games into their purest form: with action, adventure and one of the toughest women in any medium.
While I have been excited about the idea of a movie based upon these latest games, I can’t help but be skeptical that this will be the video game movie adaptation to break the long-standing curse of would-be “video game movies.” We came close with Mortal Kombat sure, but nothing since then has even come close. Castlevania was an amazing production, but that was a Netflix series, not a movie.
In the last year we’ve been subjected to the likes of Assassin’s Creed, Warcraft, Angry Birds and yet another Resident Evil movie. We’ve already had to suffer through two Tomb Raider movies in the not-so-distant pass: generally substandard affairs whose sole upside was the perfect casting of Angelina Jolie in the lead. No matter how good this movie looks on its surface, it cannot help but be mired in the universally awful tradition of video game adaptations.
And yet, Tomb Raider does indeed look excellent. Especially following its impressive trailer, I’m at a loss to find much other than precedent to fault it for.
After being treated to some genuinely stellar images of Laura running desperately through a Jungle with nothing but a makeshift bow to defend herself with, we are treated to her signing in at a high end holdings company: her company, CH Croft Holdings. Upon discovering an ornate key in a colorful puzzle box, she discovers a final message from her dearly departed father.
Addressing his daughter from beyond the grave, he reveals that he has discovered an ancient tomb called “the Mother of Death:” a secret so profound that he was killed for having learned of it. Some paramilitary organization known as Trinity has picked up where her father left off, looking to uncover the tomb for their own commercial interests: an event that would undoubtedly endanger the world.
Determined to carry out his last wish — to stop Trinity and close the tomb — she sets out for where she has deduced it to be. After her ship capsizes, however, she is captured by the enemy, who aim to use her to complete the work that her father started.
The movie looks nothing short of breathtaking. The locales, the visuals, the set pieces are all designed from the ground up to evoke the sense of adventure that the games were always best known for. Alicia Vikander, who played Laura, is likewise an inspired casting decision in the lead role; probably best known for her star-making turn as Ava in Ex Machina, she is a splendidly talented actress who could end up being the next great female action star. The supporting cast, which happily includes Nick Frost, all looks more than up for the task at hand.
Although time will tell whether this movie can live down the terrible fate that’s befallen every other movie to draw from the rich — but poorly tapped — world of video games. If any movie stands a chance of doing so, however, this seems to be the best bet.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=8ndhidEmUbI%22+frameborder%3D%220%22+allow%3D%22accelerometer%3B+encrypted-media%3B+gyroscope%3B+picture-in-picture%22+allowfullscreen%3E%3C
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