‘Tomb Raider’ Review Round-Up: Does This Break The Video Game Movie Curse? Nope
TheTomb Raiderreview embargo has lifted, and let’s just say the critics aren’t exactly enamored with the latest big-screen Lara Croft adventure. Not even Oscar winnerAlicia Vikanderis enough to elevate this video game movie – although there are some kind words here and there. Our fullTomb Raiderreview round-up is below.
Lara Croft is back on the big screen again inTomb Raider,Roar Uthaug’s adaptation of the popular video game series. Alicia Vikander is the titular tomb raider, embarking on a dangerous, globe-trotting quest. The character has had two previous big screen adaptations before –Lara Croft: Tomb RaiderandTomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, both starring Angelina Jolie. Neither of those films were particularly good. So does Vikander’s take on the character rise above the previous films? Apparently not. TheTomb Raiderreview embargo has lifted, and the general consensus seems to be that this is yet another disappointing video game movie – a mixed bag at best.
Tomb Raider Review Round-Up
Entertainment Weekly’s Leah Greenblatt offers one of the more positive takes on the film, saying that for all its flaws,Tomb Raideris “pretty good fun”:
Over atBirth Movies Death, Russ Fischer praises Vikander’s “boundless energy”:
“Never let it be said that Vikander isn’t up to a challenge.Tomb Raiderexploits her ability to injects a boundless energy into the Croft persona as she sweats through jungle chases, bike races, and dock brawls with a compulsively watchable level of effort. Vikander doesn’t make this all look easy. Rather, like that guy in those movies that theTomb Raiderfranchise relies upon for inspiration, it’s just difficult enough that success feels like an accomplishment. "
IndieWire’s Kate Erbland callsTomb Raider"dumb fun” but says the film “can’t get away from the typical tropes of the genre”:
Todd McCarthy at theHollywood Reporteris another critic to single out Vikander’s performance, while also saying the film itself is lacking:
“When all the one-dimensional supporting characters and familiar action moves fall by the wayside, the one thing left standing is Vikander. Slim and not tall, she doesn’t cut the figure of a muscled powerhouse, but here she fully embodies physical tenacity and grit, along with absolute determination not to give in or up. The film strains credulity even for a vid-game fantasy by letting the leading lady recover awfully quickly from bad injuries, but other than that Vikander commands attention and is the element here that makesTomb Raidersort of watchable.”
James Marsh atSouth China Morning Postsays the film’s action – one of its chief selling-points – leaves much to be desired:
“Norwegian director Roar Uthaug (The Wave) makes the most of his locations, but the action is edited to ribbons, and an over-reliance on CG augmentation starves the more ambitious set pieces of any sense of threat or physicality.”
Slate’s Inkoo Kang is one of the few critics to offer a genuinely positive review ofTomb Raider, describing the film as “thrilling”:
Reviewing the film forAP, Lindsey Bahr saysTomb Raider"isn’t half bad" and adds:
“[T]his video game adaption is better than most with set pieces that are both fun and ridiculous (like a high-stakes escape room) that actually seem to approximate the experience of playing a video game.”
Heroic Hollywood’s Nick Kazden saysTomb Raideris “another mediocre film adaptation”, adding:
Game Informer’s Imran Khan has good things to say about Vikander, and not-so-good-things to say about everything else:
Over atForbes, Scott Mendelson says “Alicia Vikander’s Lara Croft Deserves A Better Movie”, and adds:
“The good news is that the Oscar-winning actress offers an entertaining and occasionally devilish take on the famed video game heroine, on variation that can stand side-by-side with Jolie’s two attempts. The bad news is that the film is explicitly in “don’t screw it up” mode, going through the motions and offering somewhat generic action heroics and run-of-the-mill perils. It’s solidly decent, which for a video game movie qualifies as a miracle, but it gets off to such a solid start that it’s a little disappointing when it starts going through the motions. This is a franchise that should have skipped straight to the sequel.”
Slant’s Jake Cole says the film is far too beholden to its video game roots:
Matt Singer atScreenCrushsaysTomb Raideris a “forgettable and thoroughly mediocreIndiana Jonesknockoff,” going on to say:
“While the movie is never less than competently staged, it’s also rarely exciting or interesting enough to justify its existence. There is too much backstory about Lara, her absentee father, and his research, none of which matters. There’s even an “origin” scene for the two pistols Lara Croft carries around in most of her video games, contradicting their previous origin, which was that the creators of Tomb Raider franchise watched a ton of John Woo movies in the ’90s. Either way, who cares? If you’ve seen the previous movies, any of the Indiana Joneses, or YouTube videos of bow and arrow tricks, there’s nothing remotely new here.”
Jamie Broadnax, reviewing the film forBlack Girl Nerds, says that film is entertaining enough to be worth a watch:
“Is Tomb Raider a movie you should take seriously and expect to be a groundbreaking film? No. Is this a movie that you can enjoy with a box of popcorn and see some cool action sequences and shoot-em-up adventures? Yes.”
Consequence of Sound’s Clint Worthington offers another positive take, callingTomb Raidera “genuinely good video game movie” and adding:
