LoginThe general reputation for films based on video games is not a good one. From those seen, it is not surprising that they generally have not been well received and that as a films-based-on-video-games group the reputation is dubious.
Saw 'Tomb Raider', despite some apprehension because the critical reception was fairly lukewarm and so were the reactions from friends (whose opinions are ones that are always respected and often agreed with), as someone who likes Alicia Vikander and although it's been years as someone with fond memories of the games. Although it has also been years since seeing them, am familiar with the two 'Tomb Raider' films with Angelina Jolie. Remember quite liking the first, while also not caring for the second and being pleasantly surprised by Jolie.
'Tomb Raider' (2018), while far from perfect or one of the year's best films (far from being one of the worst too), turned out to be worth the while. Another case of liking it more than the critics did, while seeing where they're coming from.
Will agree with anybody who didn't find the script great. It's not terrible, it does intrigue and the tone at least is clear. Too much of it though is clunky, especially in the more exposition-oriented parts that are not as interesting or resonant as ought generally and veer on the banal.
Story similarly is flawed. Again, a long way from a disaster as it was taut and fun and kept me engaged with some nice clever nods to the games. It is not an original one, some of it even is pretty derivative, and it is not always logical. Mostly am not one to criticise a film for having plot holes, find it to be a very lazy and unfair reason to criticise a film for (especially when it is the only thing that some reviews for certain films mention), but will briefly mention without spoilers that they are there and they are pretty big. The ending is not really a surprise at all, actually as predictable as one would expect.
Characters tend to be one-dimensional and too neatly black and white. The father-daughter relationship and story does have heart, and the closest thing to development, but for instance Daniel Wu's character didn't fit very well, out of place actually, and Wu didn't look very comfortable.
However, 'Tomb Raider' is far from a bad film. It does what it said on the tin, knew what it wanted to be and who to aim it for and kept me entertained and engaged throughout, even with its issues. There is fun and intrigue, and also a taut pace. The film starts promisingly on a gritty note and the action is exciting and energetically choreographed, with some jaw-dropping stunts and extravagant and not over-used or abused special effects that looked like a lot of time and effort went into them.
On a visual level, 'Tomb Raider' looks great. Beautifully shot, with lots of audaciousness and grit, editing that is slick and lively and wonderfully exotic locations. Plus the effects. The most striking and arresting visuals are the Devil's sea storm, the underground pagoda tomb and the remains of the crashed airplane. The pulsating, without being overbearing, music score gives 'Tomb Raider' a lot of life, as does Uthaug's suitably muscular direction. There are brains and a heart here, as well as good thrills.
Other than Wu, the cast do a great job. Alicia Vikander's performance is a committed one and a more than worthy successor to Jolie, also a great lead performance in its own right, doing her best to have Lara as more than an action hero. Kristin Scott Thomas and Derek Jacobi are as ever dependable with not an awful lot to do. Dominic West is a compassionate presence. The best performance though comes from Walton Goggins, terrific as the villain.
All in all, worthwhile. 7/10 Bethany Cox
Tomb Raider Reviews
Tomb Raider review
Posted : 2 years, 2 months ago on 2 March 2022 05:14
0 comments, Reply to this entry
Disposable, formulaic and flavourless reboot
Posted : 5 years, 4 months ago on 22 December 2018 04:06
2018's Tomb Raider represents the second attempt to adapt the long-running video game series of the same name into a big-screen blockbuster franchise, fifteen years after the first cinematic incarnation (starring Angelina Jolie) petered out after a mere two instalments. This reboot takes its cues primarily from the 2013 video game reboot, merging the game's broad plot strokes and reimagined Lara Croft with Batman Begins-style gritty realism, and it's an origin story to boot. Despite refined visuals and an intriguing change of direction, this new Tomb Raider only works in fits and starts, marred by uneven pacing and an overcomplicated story. A movie this technically proficient and expensive has no business being so lacklustre and cold to the touch.
Seven years ago, Lord Richard Croft (Dominic West) mysteriously vanished on a business trip, and his daughter Lara (Alicia Vikander) still clings to the possibility that he is alive. Struggling to make a living as a bicycle courier in London, Lara stands to inherit her father's vast fortune, but refuses to sign the paperwork to declare him legally deceased. However, Richard's business partner Ana (Kristin Scott Thomas) warns Lara that Richard's estate will be sold off if she does not accept the inheritance. Discovering a clue left in her father's will, Lara is led to his private office, learning of Richard's secret life as an adventurer and finding his research about Japanese witch Himiko. Although Richard's pre-recorded message instructs Lara to destroy his work, she seeks to use it to find him, travelling to Hong Kong where she teams with boat captain Lu Ren (Daniel Wu) to locate the remote island of Yamatai off the coast of Japan. Shipwrecked after navigating violent waters, Lara discovers that Yamatai is under the control of mercenaries led by Vogel (Walter Goggins) who seek to weaponise Himiko's power on behalf of the shadowy organisation Trinity.
Narratively, this Tomb Raider boils down to a less thematically-resonant riff on the aforementioned 2013 video game. Most of the appeal of the original games is stripped away in favour of the "origin story" format, refusing to cut loose as the film builds towards the Lara Croft we know, down to a mid-credits scene in which she obtains her coveted dual pistols. Couple this with a painfully generic story set-up, and this reviewer was left wanting to watch a sequel instead. In addition, whereas Lara is the prominent focus of the video games, facing physical challenges and solving puzzles, 2018's Tomb Raider is inexplicably a group effort. With Lara not yet a confident woman of action, Lu Ren is allotted a bizarrely large role in the proceedings, presumably because generic would-be blockbusters such as this now heavily rely on China to make money. Furthermore, the script by Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Alastair Siddons is tonally inconsistent; over-the-top set-pieces are the order of the day, yet there is also a grim scene observing Lara who's traumatised in the immediate aftermath of her first kill.
Determined to distinguish this Tomb Raider from the cartoonish Jolie-starring pictures, director Roar Uthaug (2015's The Wave) and cinematographer George Richmond (Children of Men) imbue the material with an effectively gritty look, reminiscent of the 2013 game. Production values are expectedly nice across the board, with vivid digital effects that show how far CGI has come since the original movies. Visually, there is much to appreciate about Tomb Raider, which is unsurprising given the hefty budget. Uthaug proves a proficient visual stylist, making astute use of the locations and sets, establishing a palpable sense of place and atmosphere while on the island. It is clear, however, that the filmmakers took more influence from Uncharted than Tomb Raider - as a matter of fact, on top of the evident aesthetic influence, one of the narrative twists here is lifted directly from the first Uncharted game. Still, isolated sections of the movie do work, with well-staged sequences that deserve to be seen on the largest possible screen. Aside from the occasional shootouts, the film's centrepiece involves Lara being pursued through the jungle and down rushing rapids, leaving her trapped on an airplane wreckage precariously perched atop a waterfall. Additionally, the third act involves some actual tomb raiding, living up the movie's title.
One of the primary issues relates to pacing; the narrative is dense and overcomplicated, which requires endless monotonous exposition to make it comprehensible. Despite handsome visuals, Uthaug is unable to liven the humdrum script - Tomb Raider is often a slog between the action beats. It's telling that Stuart Baird receives an editorial credit; he's renowned for being brought onto troubled projects to salvage movies in the editing room. Moreover, Tomb Raider strives for heart and emotion through Richard and Lara's relationship, yet it never gains much traction despite the endless flashbacks to hammer home how close they were. Still, Vikander is fine as Lara, though there is not much depth to the character and she is decidedly more self-serious than Jolie. West, on the other hand, displays severely limited range, while the reliable Goggins turns in a passable performance as the underwritten key villain. There are also a few high-end British actors in the movie's first act (including Kristin Scott Thomas and Derek Jacobi) to keep viewers wondering if one of them is a secret bad guy. The only humour is supplied by Nick Frost and Jaime Winstone as married pawnbrokers who only appear in two short scenes.
The Jolie-starring Lara Croft films were not especially good from a critical standpoint, but they nailed the video game's goofiness and had a genuine sense of identity. 2018's Tomb Raider, on the other hand, is disposable, formulaic and flavourless; merely a vehicle for Vikander to show off her potential as an action lead. Despite a few worthwhile action sequences (certain scenes and beats truly feel like a video game, too), the picture lacks intrigue, charm and momentum, while the origin story format restricts how much fun can be had. With the box office underperformance in mind, it's unlikely that a follow-up will ever materialise despite an ending that directly sets up sequels. Perhaps there will be another reboot in another fifteen years.
6.3/10
6.3/10
0 comments, Reply to this entry
Tomb Raider review
Posted : 6 years, 1 month ago on 25 March 2018 06:08
There were two reasons as to why I watched this movie: the 2013 reboot game, which I played back when I had a PS3, and Alicia Vikander, who has shaped up to be one of my favorite actresses of this last decade. Honestly, I wasn't expecting much from a movie adaptation of a video game, because that is a very ambitious undertaking and movies based on video games have a bad reputation among moviegoers and gamers alike. Since there is too much material to be adapted from the game, it's obvious the movie is gonna cut off some elements to fit a 2-hour runtime.
Spoiler alert!
The premise is that Lara's father has disappeared since she was a child, leaving Lara to grow up resentful of him and trying to live outside the legacy and fortune he left for her. Upon receiving a message left by her father, Lara embarks on a journey to find him and discover what exactly her father had gotten himself into. This leads her to the strange island of Yamatai, where a group of mercenaries try to use her father's research to uncover a mystery about an ancient Japanese queen that could destroy the world.
In the original game, Lara went in that journey because she was already a rookie adventurer and her father had died years ago, so the movie has to modify her origin story more palatable to the average viewer. I'm not really upset by this but it's bound to make some hardcore fans angry that a significant chunk of Lara's agency and independence was removed.
Alicia delivers a strong performance as Lara. It's clear that Alicia trained for months to get fit for the part and the action scenes are impressive and believable. I had trouble buying into her transformation into a rugged action heroine, but again, it's a bit understandable because of difficulties of making a movie based on a video game. Since this is an origin story, we only see bits and pieces of the action heroine she will become until the climax and by the end, it's clear her development hasn't yet concluded and she still has a long way to go.
Lara's interactions with the supporting characters are corny, hackneyed and bit humorous. Every once in a while, however, they do hit the mark in terms of emotional payoff, especially in regards to Lara's father. Alicia has good chemistry with the supporting characters even the writing is pretty standard, friendship/family stuff.
I admit I didn't really hate the villain as much as the movie wanted me to. As it turns out, he is being manipulated by some evil organization that wants to control the world from the shadows and he wants to leave Yamatai so he can see family again, which is kinda similar to Lara arriving at Yamatai to see her father again. Since he is getting desperate, he antagonizes Lara and her father, making the conflict between them feel bland and forced.
The movie removes any trace of magic or supernatural elements from the series. The curse of Himiko is actually a virus and Himiko willingly entombed herself in Yamatai to prevent a large-scale pandemic. I had trouble accepting this, because I played the original game, and Himiko's powers are crucial element in the climax. Since this a more grounded, realistic take on the series, it's change that you gotta see with a little bit of understanding but it comes off as cheap and a bit of a safe route. The supernatural element is important in the game, so it would have been nice for the movie to introduce it in a creative manner rather than cutting it off entirely.
Movies based on video games are always risky bets for the movie industry and if you watch them, you should at least be a bit soft on them and judge them by their own merits rather than any preconceived notions on what should be or shouldn't be on them. Tomb Raider is not groundbreaking by any means and it won't rewrite the book in regards to strong female protagonists or movies based on video games. However, if you want to watch a fun movie with good action scenes and a relatable action heroine, then this is the movie for you.
Spoiler alert!
The premise is that Lara's father has disappeared since she was a child, leaving Lara to grow up resentful of him and trying to live outside the legacy and fortune he left for her. Upon receiving a message left by her father, Lara embarks on a journey to find him and discover what exactly her father had gotten himself into. This leads her to the strange island of Yamatai, where a group of mercenaries try to use her father's research to uncover a mystery about an ancient Japanese queen that could destroy the world.
In the original game, Lara went in that journey because she was already a rookie adventurer and her father had died years ago, so the movie has to modify her origin story more palatable to the average viewer. I'm not really upset by this but it's bound to make some hardcore fans angry that a significant chunk of Lara's agency and independence was removed.
Alicia delivers a strong performance as Lara. It's clear that Alicia trained for months to get fit for the part and the action scenes are impressive and believable. I had trouble buying into her transformation into a rugged action heroine, but again, it's a bit understandable because of difficulties of making a movie based on a video game. Since this is an origin story, we only see bits and pieces of the action heroine she will become until the climax and by the end, it's clear her development hasn't yet concluded and she still has a long way to go.
Lara's interactions with the supporting characters are corny, hackneyed and bit humorous. Every once in a while, however, they do hit the mark in terms of emotional payoff, especially in regards to Lara's father. Alicia has good chemistry with the supporting characters even the writing is pretty standard, friendship/family stuff.
I admit I didn't really hate the villain as much as the movie wanted me to. As it turns out, he is being manipulated by some evil organization that wants to control the world from the shadows and he wants to leave Yamatai so he can see family again, which is kinda similar to Lara arriving at Yamatai to see her father again. Since he is getting desperate, he antagonizes Lara and her father, making the conflict between them feel bland and forced.
The movie removes any trace of magic or supernatural elements from the series. The curse of Himiko is actually a virus and Himiko willingly entombed herself in Yamatai to prevent a large-scale pandemic. I had trouble accepting this, because I played the original game, and Himiko's powers are crucial element in the climax. Since this a more grounded, realistic take on the series, it's change that you gotta see with a little bit of understanding but it comes off as cheap and a bit of a safe route. The supernatural element is important in the game, so it would have been nice for the movie to introduce it in a creative manner rather than cutting it off entirely.
Movies based on video games are always risky bets for the movie industry and if you watch them, you should at least be a bit soft on them and judge them by their own merits rather than any preconceived notions on what should be or shouldn't be on them. Tomb Raider is not groundbreaking by any means and it won't rewrite the book in regards to strong female protagonists or movies based on video games. However, if you want to watch a fun movie with good action scenes and a relatable action heroine, then this is the movie for you.
1 comments, Reply to this entry
An average movie
Posted : 6 years, 1 month ago on 23 March 2018 10:09
I wasn't really expecting much from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Alicia Vikander and since Nick, my step-son, was really eager to check it out, we still went to see this movie when it was released. Well, to be honest, even though the previous installments starring Angelina Jolie have a rather lame reputation, at least, they were quite fun and while this movie took a (slightly) more realistic approach, it was only a minor improvement in my opinion. I mean, I don't blame Vikander who did what she could with the material and she was as usual quite convincing in a physically demanding role (apparently, she trained her ass off for this movie). Eventually, the biggest problem was the story itself. Indeed, it was really generic and, on top of that, they made a couple of mistakes. First of all, since it was an origin story, it made sense that Lara Croft wasn't yet an adventurous archeologist but, even at the end, she still didn't become one which was rather disappointing. To make things worse, she was never looking for an ancient artifact, which is supposed to be the whole point in this genre, but she was looking for her father and, as a result, it greatly undermined the impact that her 1st adventure was supposed to have. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, Alicia Vikander remains one of the most interesting actresses at work nowadays so I still think it is worth a look but I really wonder if they will go for a sequel.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
Tomb Raider review
Posted : 6 years, 1 month ago on 16 March 2018 01:38
OK origin story type movie. I wanted Lara to be a stronger character, though, as it felt that she was relying on others way more than I'd expect. Exciting start, but a lot of pointless buildup before we finally get to the real meat of the movie. I found myself checking my watch several times, which is a sign that the movie could have been shorter. Not terrible, but I don't think I need to see this one again. 6/10
0 comments, Reply to this entry