Competent, well-made, and utterly dull, Tomb Raider is the result of movie executives thinking audiences despised 2016’s Warcraft for its goofy tone instead of its endless narrative and character problems. They’ve churned out a movie so self-serious and sombre that no one could possibly mistake it for goofy, despite the presence of ancient Japanese mummies. The filmmakers have sucked out all the joy and spunk from the original source material, creating a tedious product. Tomb Raider is the IKEA of movies: Functional but soulless.
Tomb Raider eschews the insanely silly tone of the Angelina Jolie adaptations from two decades ago. It primarily lifts inspiration from the more recent and similarly serious entries in the series, which reimagine international treasure hunter and pixelated sex symbol Lara Croft as a vulnerable, overwhelmed young woman in over her head. While this reviewer can’t speak to the quality of those games, their intensity certainly doesn’t translate well into this movie. The Jolie flicks might’ve been disposable trash, but at least they had a pulse.
Alicia Vikander (who, after starring in well-received but little-seen awards movie, seems ready to score a fat payday) stars as the titular Tomb Raider, Lara Croft. She’s a hardscrabble street urchin leaving in tough-as-nails London where bikers pay strangers to let them chase them through town. Seriously. Lara spends her time getting beat up in boxing matches, slamming into police cars, and mourning her father (played by Dominic West), who disappeared years ago. When she finds a clue as to her father’s whereabouts, she charts a boat to the deadly Japanese seas, finding a cursed island, deadly mercenaries, and a tomb that needs raiding.
The setup is perfectly fine. Lara Croft is well-defined as a character who needs to grow up and accept responsibility. The screenplay puts her through the ringer, tossing her off waterfalls and dangling her over cliffs. All the character beats and plot points needed for a decent script are here. Everything is seemingly in place for a solid movie.
But nothing’s executed with any verve. The story is beyond predictable, save for one good twist about the island’s true curse. The movie chugs along at dutiful clip, presenting its plot beats with zero thrills. Bland characters spout uninspired dialogue. The only time the movie comes alive is for a brief detour with Nick Frost as a duplicitous pawn shop owner. Aside from that, the story makes no effort to engage or surprise the viewer.
The direction doesn’t bring a lot of excitement either, particularly to the action scenes. Most fights are a confusing mess of close-ups, jarring cuts, and shaky camera movements. There’s no sense of geography or space. The bigger chase scenes are equally confusing. Near the end of the film, when the actually tomb raiding begins, the film establishes a decent mood of the area, but it’s too little, too late.
Vikander certainly looks the part for Lara Croft, sporting the signature ponytail and an eight-pack set of abs. Her character is a bit too flat to serve as the lead, though, mostly relegated to grim determination or abject panic. Vikander does imbue Lara with a general likeability, but it’s not enough to elevate the movie.
The rest of the cast do their jobs. Walton Goggins, one of the most exciting character-actors working today, is wasted as a bland villain. He brings a bit of his trademark insanity to the role, but it’s too underwritten for him to do much with it. Dominic West classes up the joint with his silky-smooth voice, but doesn’t bring much else. Daniel Wu shows promise as a drunken sea captain, but he appears too infrequently to leave an impression.
Tomb Raider was clearly made with the intention to “elevate” the misbegotten video game adaptation genre. The filmmakers wanted to make a genuine, serious action movie with none of the cheesiness that has plagues countless video game films. But they went too far in the other direction, removing any sense of fun or adventure. They finally made an video game adaptation that isn’t wholly embarrassing; maybe now they can make one that’s actually good.
