Tomb Raider

    With Indiana Jones in retirement, it seems Hollywood is reluctant to make classic adventure films featuring tropical locations and ancient treasures these days. But Lara Croft has returned to fill the void of old-school adventure films with her latest outing.
     But does it break the video game movie curse? It seems like video game based movies cannot be good, no matter how good the talent is. Well I for one enjoyed Tomb Raider. It's got its problems like questionable editing, lack of supporting characters, and a beginning that seems to drag on for way too long (Did we really need to see Lara in a bicycle chase to show that she's desperate for money?). As a fan of the video games, I did find the majority of the film enjoyable.
     Alicia Vikander is a lovable Lara. She's hard headed, tough, but also has a lot of heart, which is who Lara has always been, and I'm happy to report the movie focuses on this aspect of the character rather than the...*ahem* "physical prowess" that the Jolie movies seemed to do.
     What I greatly appreciate about this movie is that it told it's own story for the most part. To say it's based on the 2013 game of the same name is being generous. Other than the island, the "treasure," and Lara's outfit, it really has nothing to do with the game. This made it more exciting for me, as it left me guessing as to how things would play out. In fact, I loved some of the twists because they weren't in the game, and I didn't expect them to happen. But is it a good story? Well...it has its moments. The beginning is mainly to serve as a way to show how Lara is able to do things later on in the film, and that's fine. But it does drag on, and at one point, I thought to myself, "Are we ever going to get on the island?" When Lara sets off on her voyage, it does pick up, and it's exciting, dangerous, and interesting.  The tomb she raids serves as great set pieces, and I want more movies with tombs like it.
     Overall, as far as video game movies are concerned, it's not bad. It's not perfect, but I don't think it deserves a 49% on Rotten Tomatoes. I'd give it a high C or low B. It made mistakes, but it didn't fail. It made Lara an interesting character that you could cheer for. I think if they were to do a sequel, they could learn from their mistakes and make a better film. I for one would certainly go on another tomb raiding adventure with Lara Croft.

---