19 March 2018
118 mins
PG-13
Roar Uthaug (Director)
Alicia Vikander, Dominic West, Walton Goggins
Action/Adventure
Lara Croft, the fiercely independent daughter of a missing adventurer, must push herself beyond her limits when she finds herself on the island where her father disappeared. (IMDB Synopsis)
I had high hopes for Tomb Raider, but I came out marginally disappointed. Now, I don't dislike the original films with Angelina Jolie. They had their faults, but they were good fun. In this film, they leave behind both the sex appeal and humour in favour of gritty action and drama, forgoing, too, any supernatural/mystical elements. I am a fan of both Alicia Vikander and Dominic West, and both turned in great performances, but I just never connected with Vikander's Lara in the way I did with Jolie's. I can't tell you exactly why, but I was only ever lukewarm towards her. As a set-up/origins movie, it worked well, and we do see Lara grow during the film, changing her mindset and pushing herself physically. However, there are difficulties with the pacing of the film, which took a little too long to get off the ground, most of the main action them packed into the final third. In addition, I struggled with some of the characters. For example, we are introduced to Lu Ren as if he has a major part to play, but then his character doesn't really go anywhere, and the film wouldn't have run any differently with a nameless figure providing those same services to Lara. Overall, I would say it's a mediocre film for me. There were things I liked--I certainly didn't hate it--but likewise, I wouldn't rave about it, and in terms of re-watching, I'd be more likely to pop one of the earlier movies in the DVD player if I am looking for entertainment. At least they had Chris Barrie. 3.5 stars
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