‘Tomb Raider’ reboots the Lara Croft’s adventures, but is slow to get Alicia Vikander moving
Tomb Raider is the latest video game to film adaptation, this time starring Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina, The Danish Girl), taking up the role of Lara Croft in an entertaining adventure which just starts too slow.
Lara lives as a poor bicycle courier in east London, denying her heritage after her father (Dominic West) went missing years earlier. The young woman is drawn into the intrigue by some clues left by her Dad and begins an adventure to the other side of the globe to explore the mysterious tomb of Himiko — the “mother of death”…and, well, hopefully find out more about her father’s disappearance.
She enlists a ship captain (Daniel Wu) to get her to the island, only to discover the “evil corporate bad guys” are already there, led by Walton Goggins. Lara has to be find a way to overcome, solve the mystery and deal with the fate of her dad.
Director Roar Uthaug (The Wave) can’t rescue a script which starts too slow, mired in minutia and cliches to get Lara into “adventurer mode.”
Sadly, this approach to Lara Croft, making her so naive and immature with regards to the world, reduces her to a great puzzle solver and a lucky survivor. There are great scenes, but Uthaug can’t transform the story into an Indiana Jones adventure, despite some redeeming elements late in the film. The dramatic peril is never balanced with some comic relief or intrigue.
Nick Frost’s brief role as a pawn shop owner and a great after credit scenes make us want more, but that is unlikely since the film can’t seem to find enough footing to warrant a sequel…and there goes the video game movie curse.
To the film’s credit, the film is family friendly, clean for younger viewers able to handle the “stress” of the adventure without having to endure nudity, sex, gore or a ton of cursing.
Tomb Raider earns 2 stars out of 5 stars
Interested in a clean, fun adventure for the family, this is ok, add a 1/2 star and check it out.
