Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - Movie Review

Lara Croft and the struggle to screen.

Now that I´m also doing reviews TV and film based on video games a couple of movies could not be missed: the Tomb Raider films. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life are some of the earliest live action video game movies out there. Number 7 and 9 respectively going by Wikipedia. It makes sense that the Tomb Raider movies came so early. The series was one of the most popular game series in the late 90's, early 2000's after all. 

While I now count myself as a Tomb Raider fan, I never watched these films before. The most I saw were some previews and half a scene once awhile zapping channels. The scene in question was Angelina Jolie descending from the roof shooting at bad guys with those twin pistols of hers. It ended when my mother switched channels - she didn't think it appropriate for a kid my age. 

What surprises me is that it was quite a struggle to get this movie to the silver screen. The screenplay was worked on by five different writers before director Simon West came on board. He took over the project when the original director got booted, which might have been a omen. West himself got the sack during post-production and his original 130-minute cut was thrown in the bin... only to be rehired to do some reshoots. That must´ve been quite the call!

And that's not all folks! The funding of the film may or may not have come from a combination of German and Brittain tax schemes involving tax reductions and reliefs. So yeah, there's that too I guess!

Without further ado, let's talk about the nearly 25-years-old (!) original Tomb Raider movie starring Angelina Jolie and see what this film is all about. 

When Lara is awoken by a ticking sound, she finds that a clock hidden in a secret room has suddenly sprang into action. Hidden there by her missing father, the clock is supposedly connected to an ancient and powerful triangular artefact. Hoping to learn what truly happened to her father, Lara sets out on a journey that brings her from Cambodia to Siberia to uncover both pieces of the triangle. But of course, Lara isn't the only one looking for the triangle. Her quest for answers turns into race against the clock to keep its power out of the hands of some very nefarious people. 

The plot here is pretty standard for an action-adventure film. An ancient artefact hidden in pieces. Check. A secret society bent on using said artefact for evil. Also check. A father who went missing under suspicious circumstances? Yet another check.  

The story, the writing, isn't the greatest but I wouldn't call it bad either. It's serviceable; does the job. It's predictable and a bit cheesy, yes, and they push far into the 'sexy Lara' but I never found the film cringe or boring. It does exactly what advertised. Be a breezy action-adventure movie without many bells and whistles. One that's more concerned about simply moving us to the next tomb and the next action scene than diving deep into its characters. 

You notice this in both the editing, which favours quick cuts that end scenes as soon as possible, and in the characters. Most our cast, including Lara, lack depth and meaningful arcs. Lara certainly isn't someone to mess with. She's a capable woman and Angelina Jolie can defintely carry a film. If you're looking for more though, more personality for example, you will be left disappointed. There is this attempt at a romance between here and a fellow archaeologist that feels superficial. More like a plot device for the conclusion than an actual relationship. 

Speaking of Angelina Jolie: I always ever known her as this big movie star. I was surprised to learn during my research that Tomb Raider is widely considered to be the film that turned her into that movie star. This little factoid made me even more interested to see this movie. There has to be a very good reason why Tomb Raider was the flick that led to her big breakthrough, right? 

Well, as you probably already guessed, if there is a reason I didn´t see it. Yes, Angelina puts in a solid performance and proves that she can do action and do it convincingly. I just don´t think she does anything noteworthy. It is a very much a ´what you see is what you get performance´. One without much depth or nuance. 

Now that I am on this train of thought, several side characters are forgotten by the end or only serve as moving parts for action scenes. The only reason I remember them is because of their actors. Maybe in 2001 Angeline Jolie and her father Jon Voight as her onscreen father Richard Croft were the known faces, but 20 years later we have a lot more recognizable faces here. 

Daniel Craig, James Bond, as that fellow archaeologist and romantic interest - reluctantly. Ian Glenn, Jorah Mormont, as our suave bad guy. Even Chris Barrie, Arnold J. Rimmer, has his first movie role here as Lara's faithful butter. OK, I understand that Red Dwarf is not on the same level as James Bond or Game of Thrones, but I like it!

I did not expect them to show up but I was pleasantly surprised when they did. This may or may not have been the result of that tax scheme I was talking about earlier though. One of them mandate some UK filming and British actors to be in the film. Once again I digress though. This is a doozy bit of trivia but not on I'm qualified to really dig into. 

Regardless of how it came together, this casting worked well. They all turned in good performances, doing the best with the rather by the numbers scripts they were given. Plus, it gives this film more star power these days and makes it more alluring for people to watch because of this.

Did not expect to see them together, now did you?

With the casting out of the way, let's circle back to what this film finds more important and does best. The action and general style, or 'feel'. 

What became immediately clear to me when watching the opening is that Lara Croft: Tomb Raider puts a lot a of effort in looking slick, cool and a bit sexy. We have robots, over the top action pieces involving magic and motorcycles and Lara wearing black leather jackets and sunglasses. We also have some 'almost nude' scenes here of Angelina. I was happy to learn that these where toned down from what was initially filmed. Daniel Craig got one of those too which was a bit of 'gender equality' I did not expect. 

For the first points especially, the film reminded me of many such action movies of the late 90's /early 2000's. Mission Impossible 2 in particular. To be clear: that was before I learned that the editor the studio brought in after firing Simon West is the same guy who edited Mission Impossible 2. I guess there is a reason why they made him re-edit bot flicks. 

All of this is a good indicator for if you will enjoy this style of movie or not. If you like the 2nd Mission Impossible and other such films, I have no doubts you will enjoy this movie as well. It's not the style I would choose for a Tomb Raider adaptation but judging by the box office it worked out well for them. 

I certainly don't have a ton to complaint here. Over the top and try had cool it might be, I very much enjoyed all this action. I do get why people at the time were critical of them. I'd say they have a certain degree of 'Michael Bay' to them. The prominent, fireworks like explosions is one of them but they catered to that little boy in me that can't get enough of such things. Of Lara using a motorcycle to take out a bunch of bad guys. Of ancient statues coming to life and attack our heroine. 

What also helped is that the action sequences were well put together. Good choreography, good cinematography with no shaky cam and good lighting made them all clearly to see and easy to follow. A lot of it was clearly also done practically though CGI that is here sticks out like a sore thumb. It's 'Scorpion King' levels of bad but they are but part of the same ruler, if you will. 

Lastly, for how much this film leans into action and 'sexy Lara' it manages to still be distinctively Tomb Raider.  All the elements are here, accounted for and played around with without losing the core identity. The puzzles and obstacles Lara encounters feel like they could be from the games, conceptually speaking. The way they work and are presented feels like they were though out as if they were for a game. Before being scaled back and simplified for film that is. I'd even say that Ian Glenn's Powel feels like a villain that could've stepped straight from the game into this film. 

This isn't a 'in name only' film is what I'm trying to say. They come up with their own things, emphasizes certain elements while downplaying others, but it is all still Tomb Raider if you ask me. Even if skirts the line here and there when it clearly tries to appeal a bit too much to the movie crowd. 

Conclusion

The Lara Croft: Tomb Raider movie is the definition of 'style over substance' in my eyes. It put a lot of effort into looking cool more than about presenting an interesting narrative or compelling characters. It's all about over the top action, flashy explosions and Angelina Jolie in sunglasses doing cool things while looking cool and sexy. That said, I don't find this to be a bad film, just an OK one. The story is just good enough, the characters are just good enough and everything is just 'Tomb Raider' enough for things to work. It's cheesy and surface level but it is not cringe or boring.

This is a decent, harmless, popcorn action movie to watch that doesn't life Tomb Raider to new heights but doesn't insult it either.