On Mar. 16, the movie version of the popular video game series “Tomb Raider” came to the big screen, adding to the list of video games made into movies. “Tomb Raider,” a reboot of the original movie pair that was released in 2001 and 2003, was an attempt to revive the story of adventurer Lara Croft, the story’s brave and determined protagonist. In this 2018 reboot of “Tomb Raider,” Lara Croft fights her way through unexpected and unexplained enemies, navigates through and solves various deadly puzzles of the tombs, and finally uncovers the answer to the fate of her father.
The movie follows Lara and her adventures, starting with her struggling financially as well as emotionally, refusing to believe her father, who left her behind as a little girl, which would give her the inheritance of his wealthy company. Upon finding a hidden message from her father, she embarks on an epic journey in pursuit of her father and the work that took him away from her. However, it soon becomes much more intense than she originally anticipated.
The actress who was chosen to play Lara Croft (Alicia Vikander) was actually very fitting for the role. She was a good actress, and was able to portray Lara’s character in the right way. However, for reasons other than her performance, the role didn’t live up to its expectations. The fact that there was little character development, or moments where the audience was able to see Lara’s independent, inspirational personality stick out, lead her to become sort of misused. Most of the movie included her performing stunts, rather than showing her personality. Also, there were a couple of characters from the beginning of the movie that were only ever seen once or twice, without much explanation about who they actually were.
Another problem the movie had was the lack of a solid, strong plot. Though it wasn’t terrible, with the main purpose behind the tomb invasion in the story being a well orchestrated plot twist, it could’ve been better. Since the story focused a little too much on action, it unfortunately deprived it of what could’ve been some truly emotionally powerful conversations or character development.
Though the action kept the movie entertaining enough, the presence of some serious flaws gives “Tomb Raider” a 6/10.
Nicholas Sowell // Co-Sports Editor
