[yasr_overall_rating]
Lara Croft, the fiercely independent daughter of a missing adventurer, must push herself beyond her limits when she finds herself on the island where her father disappeared.
I can’t think of any great video game to film adaptation but “Tomb Raider” is a solid action movie packed with puzzles, heart, and many thrills. Paternal love, persistence, and survival are the core of this story. In the original PlayStation Indiana Jones-inspired homage, Lara Croft was a globe-trotting, scantily clad, dual gun wielding explorer. In 2013, the video game franchise shifted gears and brought forth a much more compellingly rugged character. This movie continues the latter’s vision and Lara is portrayed as a hard-working, driven young woman. She is introduced sparring in MMA combat with a taller, more formidable opponent in a boxing ring. Lara lands some good blows but is grappled into submission. She taps out before falling unconscious which foreshadows her unrelenting nature. Lara’s father, Richard Croft, played by Dominic West, has been missing for seven years and she is encouraged by her stepmother Ana, played by Kristen Scott Thomas, to take control of the wealthy Croft estate.
Upon reading her father’s will she solves a Japanese puzzle box that leads her into a research room full of pictures and documents displaying her father’s obsessive hunt for an elusive Japanese island. Lara becomes determined to finish his quest and heads to Hong Kong to contact the captain who had previously sailed her father to the mysterious island. It turns out the Chinese captain went missing with her father and now his drunken, gambling-addicted son, Lu Ren (Daniel Wu), operates the vessel aptly named ‘Endurance.’ Their interactions are natural and humorous, and I was happy this movie didn’t concern itself with a forced romance between the two lead characters. After paying Lu Ren a hefty charter price the two set sail through the treacherous Devil’s Sea and end up shipwrecked in a squall. It’s a harrowing scene that sets the tone for Lara’s fight not only against future adversaries but nature itself.
On the Island is when the story really gets going. The charismatic Walton Goggins plays Mathias Vogel, who is employed by the shady corporation Trinity and who is tasked with locating a long-lost tomb. Vogel has been on the island for seven long years leading mercenaries and slaves on the archaeological excavation for his search. Vogel is exhausted and a bit out there but not full on Colonel Kurtz, driven to the point of madness. He’s not able to leave until he locates the tomb, and he only wants to get home to his family, not to say he won’t hesitate to kill anyone in his way. Both Lara and Lu Ren are searching for their lost fathers whilst Lara’s father and Vogel have left their families behind to seek out the legendary tomb. This is a movie that reckons with loss and sacrifice but not in a religious allegorical sense.
“Tomb Raider” has at least six or seven stunning set pieces that I can’t wait to revisit and relish. Most of the stunts, some of which were actually performed by Vikander, are death-defying wild feats but they keep a grounded perspective. In this installment, Croft is portrayed as a strong heroine, unlike the previous patronizing view of Angelina Jolie’s outing. Lara isn’t dressed in short shorts, she dresses practically instead of tantalizing. Vikander’s Croft gets dirty, punctured, and roughed up, avoiding the typical Hollywood glam gaze. It was also astonishing to see archaic traps and riddles displaying a true sense of bye-gone silver screen adventure.
“Tomb Raider”’s momentum thrashes along to the intense score by the highly in-demand Dutch composer, Junkie XL. The soundtrack is a great mix of standard epic spectacle sounds awash with thundering tribal drums accentuating the primal atmosphere.
The production design was memorable and organically exceptional. Ancient ruins laden with deadly snares look like they are centuries old, weathered and worn, all seamlessly blending real locations, sets, and CGI. The director, Roar Uthaug who previously shot the Scandinavian disaster movie “The Wave,” shoots underwater, in the jungle, and in old ruins with visceral clarity. I highly recommend running and jumping to this on the biggest, loudest TV screen you can find.
Available on 4K Ultra HD, 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray, DVD & Digital HD June 12th
