Video game royalty Lara Croft is making the return to the big screen, with Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl) taking over from Angelina Jolie for the currently filming Tomb Raider. Taking it’s cue from the 2013 reboot of the long running franchise, this promises to be a lot grittier, upping the life and death stakes exponentially, than what audiences are used to from the character. The first images, via Vanity Fair, definitely play that up, but then you read the overly detailed synopsis and all the grittiness promised is washed away:
Seven years after the disappearance of her father, 21-year-old Lara has refused to take the reins of his global business empire, instead working as a bike courier in London while taking college classes. Eventually she becomes inspired to investigate her father’s disappearance and travels to his last-known location: a tomb on an island somewhere off the coast of Japan. Suddenly, the stakes couldn’t be higher for Lara, who—against the odds and armed with only her sharp mind, blind faith and inherently stubborn spirit—must learn to push herself beyond her limits as she journeys into the unknown. If she survives this perilous adventure, it could be the making of her, earning her the name Tomb Raider.
I know we can’t judge a film by it’s synopsis, but it just seems so generic and boring. That being said, it does follow the story of the reboot, which followed Lara forced to survive on a remote island, slowly becoming the shoot first, follow proper archaeological procedure later heroine we all know and love. If it can capture a spark of what made the 2013 game, and it’s 2015 sequel Rise of the Tomb Raider, so enjoyable, this adaption could have a chance. But considering the bad track record of video game adaptions, especially recently, it has a tough fight ahead of it.
Also starring Dominic Cooper (The Wire) as Lara’s father, Daniel Wu (Into the Badlands) as the ship captain helping Lara on her journey, and the always wonderful Walto Goggins (The Hateful Eight) as the main villain, Tomb Raider hots the big screen March 16th 2018.
Seven years after the disappearance of her father, 21-year-old Lara has refused to take the reins of his global business empire, instead working as a bike courier in London while taking college classes. Eventually she becomes inspired to investigate her father’s disappearance and travels to his last-known location: a tomb on an island somewhere off the coast of Japan. Suddenly, the stakes couldn’t be higher for Lara, who—against the odds and armed with only her sharp mind, blind faith and inherently stubborn spirit—must learn to push herself beyond her limits as she journeys into the unknown. If she survives this perilous adventure, it could be the making of her, earning her the name Tomb Raider.
I know we can’t judge a film by it’s synopsis, but it just seems so generic and boring. That being said, it does follow the story of the reboot, which followed Lara forced to survive on a remote island, slowly becoming the shoot first, follow proper archaeological procedure later heroine we all know and love. If it can capture a spark of what made the 2013 game, and it’s 2015 sequel Rise of the Tomb Raider, so enjoyable, this adaption could have a chance. But considering the bad track record of video game adaptions, especially recently, it has a tough fight ahead of it.
Also starring Dominic Cooper (The Wire) as Lara’s father, Daniel Wu (Into the Badlands) as the ship captain helping Lara on her journey, and the always wonderful Walto Goggins (The Hateful Eight) as the main villain, Tomb Raider hots the big screen March 16th 2018.
