YNMS: Tomb Raider
Wednesday, September 27, 2017 at 10:15AM 
Seán here. Another day, another reboot, another Academy Award Winning Supporting Actress. And not unlike Angelina Jolie at the time, Alicia Vikander is aiming to capitalise on an Oscar with a leading role in a big star making vehicle. Vikander has an advantage compared to Jolie at this time, with some notable credits like Ex Machina and A Royal Affair to upsell her Oscar. Angelina Jolie has had one of the patchiest filmographies for anyone supposedly a mega-famous superstar. The two Tomb Raider films Jolie starred in were snoozefests, making the 2018 reboot something no one is going to be precious about, while raising the important question "why bother?"
The reason is that - at least on paper - Lara Croft is a perfect action heroine. She's independent, strong, adventurous, a gorgeous risk taker somewhere between Indiana Jones and James Bond. What puts Tomb Raider at an unbiased disadvantage is that video games to not translate well into films. None of them are good. Although the marketing campaign is off to a shaky start, let's give the trailer the benefit of the doubt.
YES
- Within the first 10 seconds Kristin Scott Thomas appears. It knows how to keep me watching.
- A gentle joke: The sheepishness of the guy behind the desk at Croft Holdings. Could this be setting us up for action adventure with a sense of fun?
- Daniel Wu as Lara's hunky sidekick. And he's in a tank top. Yum.
- Big action set pieces. From my memory of the original film with Angelina Jolie, the action sequences just didn't spark. Lara leaps from ships, jumps from the wings of planes, charges through the jungle with her bow and arrow. Vikander definitely gets to have fun doing this.
- Walton Goggins as a Southern-drawlin' villain. An ass-kicking surely awaits.
NO
- Lara Croft is so posh. Have we not reached our saturation point with cut-glass English action heroes? Vikander is one of those Scandis who learned to speak English with that accent and will sadly never be able to unlearn it.
- A KEY OPENING A DOOR. Anyone who has ever played Tomb Raider is groaning - no one wants a 90 minute action film looking for keys to open doors!
- Already the film feels paced like a video game. One task, leading to an action sequence, leading to a level boss. Rinse and repeat.
- Lara ducks and tumbles and twists as a series of nefarious booby traps come at her. It feels like there is a games controller in my hand.
- Any actress playing Lara Croft is at a disadvantage: she hasn't got the most developed personality. Sure you get to jump off things but is that enough?
- Daddy leaves a secret message to fulfill his destiny, find some kind of "amulet" surely, and save the world? Does this still seem imaginative to you?
MAYBE SO
- It's not Marvel, it's not DC. Maybe some good old fashioned perilous archeology is what we need right now?
- Alicia Vikander, while still gorgeous, is more a relatable beauty that Angelina Jolie. The action heroine we need today?
- Wonder Woman established a standard in how good female action should be, expectations will be high and they will be compared.
- They have two previous films to learn mistakes from, this wouldn't have got made if it wasn't good, right?
- Vikander's Oscar is that hackneyed tradition of giving young actors and actresses awards for being good in something. There's pressure to really make something of yourself afterwards, and if this fails for Vikander, it will fail hard.
- What is Lara Croft's feminist message? I look forward to reading her pamphlet.
The audiences for Wonder Woman were really broad, and it was bolstered by some great reviews. This Tomb Raider seems spirited, but the trailer indicates an action-adventure film in a tried and tested means, for a tried and tested audience. And this summer has shown that this formula is not a guaranteed hit. It's a solid NO.
Have your say - is Tomb Raider a right choice for a reboot and will Vikander make the role her own?
Reader Comments (23)
Honestly? I assumed I'd be a No but based on that trailer I'm a Maybe. Could be fun, but I'll never understand why trailers feel the need to give away every moment of a scene (the boat rocks..she looks out the window...she's running...she jumps...she clearly lands perfectly safe somewhere...why show all this?). Glad we saw Vikander smirk and have a gleam in her eye at the end. If she's just a dour heroine then the whole movie would be a slog.
Ignore this and set your eyes on this trailer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufaDurSCKOk
Hard NO. The trailer was dreadful. The script sounds like it's a copy/paste of every tired adventure cliche with bonus missing parent drama. Also, is Lara a superhero? Given those ridiculous jumps I'm assuming she can fly now?
I'll support it because I want the best for Vikander...but I'm sure this isn't the type of film work she wants to do. This seems more like an agents choice.
It amazes me how far Jolie has come,she is for me a limited actress apart from A Mighty Heart and even then she has some overacted moments,several poor performances and films and a limited directorial eye who would not have had any chances if it wan't for her name she reminds me of Jodie Foster but without the charisma,BO hits,good reviews and talent to back anything up but has never been hugh BO wise,she always has a huge male lead Brad,Denzel etc or is in hits with Disney attached.
As for VIKANDER sorry I just can't.
It looks like a dreadful retread of the first one , understand why Alicia may have wanted to do something different but she never struck me as a physical actress, I have a horrible feeling it will bomb but then the first Wonder Woman trailer was pretty grotty so we live in hope
A big NO for me .... everything seems cheap. It brings to my mind the Fantastic Four reboot which was even worse than the original two.......
And the Angelina Jolie scenario is SOOOO obvious !!!!! Winning an Oscar too soon, then struggling for a few years and then starring in a Lara Croft movie nobody wants to see...... The girl was soooooo promising !
I hope the movie really surprises me....
This has the potential to be the biggest flop of 2018.
It looks bad, like, 90s Jean-Claude Van Damme bad.
After non-starters like The Light between Oceans and Tulip Fever,
Negative to crickets feedback on Euphoria and Submergence,
I just hope she bounces back.
Sony Pictures Classics has picked up domestic rights for THE WIFE. Glenn Close usurps the overdue campaign they had setup for Bening.
Omg was just about to say noomi rapace would have been a better tomb raider but all goes to hell knowing the wife has been picked up .... goes off to a make a glenn close banner .... she must win ....... hooray !!!!
Arghhh Sony are releasing it in 2018 😭
You don't know what you are talking about. A other Jolie hater that refuse to give her credit for anything. It is amazing that Angie is so strong and withstands all these shots. She is a superstar and deserves to be there unlike so many others like Aniston, Goop I mean Paltrow etc.
Oh my goodness, I am here for the clips of Jane on Megyn Kelly's show this morning...
2018 is mentioned but they could go for a 1 week qualifiying run before a January wider rollout,If it goes 2018 the performance mat get overshadowed or another overdue actress comes out fighting and Glenn goes 0 for 7 remember Oscar likes it's new shiny things,seems strange to sit on it for a year.
No, no, maybe no and just no.
Not interested. Didn't like the original films when they came out as I wasted $13 on a CD soundtrack that featured a subpar song by Nine Inch Nails (which is rare from Trent). Why would I waste my time watching the reboot?
I think Viklander is an awesome actress... I just don't like this type of movie.
The trailer is ok but does not make me want to see the movie
I mean, I'd definitely prefer Gina Diggers got a movie before Lara Croft did. Whoo boy, is the filmmaker who decides to make Gold Digger in live-action in for something. (Lara Croft exists at a precipice between Indiana Jones and James Bond. Gina Diggers exists at a precipice between Indiana Jones and, to be blunt, Dexter's Lab.)
I was a BIG HELL NO. Then I saw the trailer. And Daniel Wu. I would see it for Daniel Wu in a tank top. I love you Daniel Wu.
well, she certainly does a lot of jumping
what's with all those blackouts?
walks towards a door
[BLACKOUT]
emerges on the other side of door
i thought i was having a seizure
game over [sorry, KST]
It's a no for me. It pains to me say this because I'm all for female-driven actioners. But Alicia Vikander seems quite out of her element here. I can understand her wanting to sign. Gives her a nice paycheck and a break from period pieces. But I would've much preferred to see Gugu Mbatha-Raw or Emily Blunt as the main lead.
Matt: I've played Tomb Raider 2013, and I have to tell you: Vikander's arguably too old for this, but the "out of her element" idea means she's actually decent casting. So Blunt and Mbatha-Raw? Absolutely not. The ideal would have been an 18-22 year old unknown.