Tomb Raider (2018)

[dallywhitty]

Originally Posted by morphinapg

Much more popular and rated higher than the last few pre-reboot Tomb Raider games as well.

Well, technically the series was already rebooted in 2006 with Legend, and the Legend-Anniversary-Underworld trilogy received great reviews. Sales of the latter two had dipped, though, I'll give you that, which is probably what necessitated the need to start afresh.

[Kylo Ren]

It's funny how Whitty thinks he/she (?) knows what he/she (?) is talking about when it comes to Tomb Raider.

[dallywhitty]

Originally Posted by Kylo Ren

It's funny how Whitty thinks he/she (?) knows what he/she (?) is talking about when it comes to Tomb Raider.

Well, duh. I'm a huge fan.

[Kylo Ren]

Originally Posted by dallywhitty

Well, duh. I'm a huge fan.

Are you proud of me for not assuming your gender?

[dallywhitty]

Originally Posted by Kylo Ren

Are you proud of me for not assuming your gender?

You should already know what my gender is, baby. We spent the night together, remember?

[Creed]

Still glad that it's a hit internationally.

[Kylo Ren]

Originally Posted by dallywhitty

You should already know what my gender is, baby. We spent the night together, remember?

Don't play that game. Since when did you plan on telling me you were engaged? What's this all about? I guess you're calling other people "baby" too, huh?

[dallywhitty]

Originally Posted by Kylo Ren

Don't play that game. Since when did you plan on telling me you were engaged? What's this all about? I guess you're calling other people "baby" too, huh?

What can I say? I'm a slut.

[jlk5844]

Saw a matinee of it Saturday. It was OK. I played the '13 game when it came out and that was excellent, a lot of fun and a darker take on the Tomb Raider story with focus more on survival than raiding tombs. It was refreshing to see the beginnings of an iconic character, reimagined to be less sexualized and guns-blazing and more scrappy and vulnerable, entering her journey before she became the legendary badass, and seeing that transformation start to take place.

This movie takes its cues from that game as opposed to the earlier ones which we saw cinematically realized in two bad, if enjoyable, Angelina Jolie action films. I was happy about that, since I loved the game (was the first TR game I had played in awhile, and I found that version of the character more compelling), and was excited to see a new movie since I've always had a fondness for the franchise. Alicia Vikander steps into the role this time, an actress I've become a fan of since she is supremely talented and beautiful. Roar Uthaug is directing, which I was sort've mixed on, but he did direct a fairly well-received disaster movie, The Wave, a few years back. Along with the stunning official images released early on that clearly resemble the game, this was looking like it could be the best video game movie yet. A low bar to clear, but invigorating nonetheless.

It's not. Nope. Or, at least, it's not easily the best. Though it's certainly up there with them, and it's superior to the Jolie efforts. Vikander is terrific and the best thing the film has going for it, ergo why they touted her Academy Award-winning status in the trailer. In a movie that struggles to giver her a real character with depth, she gives it her all, and sells the emotion and athleticism (she got f*cking ripped, abs of steel!). Lara is strong in those senses, but she's not complex as written on the page, and unfortunately the plot about finding her father is the extent of her characterization. That, and spunkiness. I didn't care much about the plot. We get brief flashback scenes between a child Lara and her father that always see him departing, and so we never get strong, human insight into their relationship. This absolutely cripples our interest in her adventure, because we don't care about their potential reunion, the sole reason she's embarking on this dangerous quest. Plus, it's a pretty shallow, flat attempt at character development.

That boils down what is the movie's biggest problem: the script. The story simply isn't all that interesting, and it's frustrating because of the potential behind it. It's mostly jumping from set-piece to set-piece, instead of zeroing in on its protagonist and telling a compelling, emotional, truly visceral tale of survival, discovery, bravery, and evolution. I can visualize the movie that it should've been in my head, and I knew it wasn't going to be that after seeing the marketing, but it's disappointing anyway. These video game adaptations really aren't rocket science to figure out, the studios just need to hire auteur filmmakers, the best in the business, or proven independent directors and writers. You can't just throw in a talented actor and rely on the name, and the look of the game, cause then you end up with the experience of essentially watching someone playing a game for two hours.

To be fair, this is competently directed. It's actually very well-directed at times, particularly the action scenes. Aside from a bicycle race and dock chase at the beginning, they're pretty much lifted from the game, but they're well-shot and exciting. About that beginning, I found it to be rushed and bland, like a weaker Fast & Furious entry. I though things improved once the boat crashes and she reaches the island, which thankfully comprises the majority of the movie. Still, while the film cycles through the game's big moments and handles them appreciably, they're not as impactful and lasting as they could be (like

[Show spoiler]Lara's first kill

). Walton Goggins should get a mention, because he's a great actor and a great casting choice for the villain. It's a shame however that, yep, he's not given enough to work with. He has to substitute pointing a gun around for menace and his motivation is terribly under-explored, but he does what he can and still manages some presence. I'll also give a shout-out to the score by Junkie XL, which elevated things.

Overall, Tomb Raider is a decent but kinda forgettable B-movie that'll kill time if nothing else. Good for popcorn munching at a matinee or a rental at home. The performances, especially a game lead actress, the entertaining action, some solid visuals, and capable direction do their best to upgrade a mediocre screenplay. I had some fun with it, as a fan, and not gonna lie a sweaty, grimy Alicia Vikander in a tank top is nice to look at, so that helped things. It is disappointing that the curse lives on and this couldn't be the harrowing, thrilling, powerful character study/actioner I wanted it to be, but if a sequel materializes (which this movie's ending seems so sure about), I would hope they hire writers who care about character, and a more established director.

2.5/5

[morphinapg]

Originally Posted by dallywhitty

Pretty much this. I like the reboot era a lot - especially Rise - but they're not exactly innovative and they do owe a lot to Uncharted (which owes a lot to Tomb Raider, so it's like a never-ending cycle).

That's the thing. Good games often take what other games are doing well, and improve upon them. Tomb Raider did that, and Rise improved upon it further. Uncharted really figured out how to make a Tomb Raider like story in a modern gaming world, with fantastic characters and storytelling, and updated gameplay, and Tomb Raider took what Naughty Dog learned with their series, and expanded upon that to make Tomb Raider much better than it was before that. Yeah it's cool to see major innovations once and a while, but it's ridiculous to demand that for every new game. Many of the best games take what are already being done well, and refine and improve upon that, and then match it with a fantastic storytelling experience. Look at The Last of Us. There's not a huge amount of "new" stuff that game did, but it did everything it did really well, and delivered an insanely good storytelling experience along with it, making one of the best games of all time, despite having very little real innovation.

Originally Posted by dallywhitty

Well, technically the series was already rebooted in 2006 with Legend, and the Legend-Anniversary-Underworld trilogy received great reviews. Sales of the latter two had dipped, though, I'll give you that, which is probably what necessitated the need to start afresh.

Sort of. It was still the same basic gameplay and character direction, just a slightly better engine. The reviews were good, not as good as the new reboot, but the sales were dipping for sure which is why they needed more of a modern reboot.

[Leonidas King]

Originally Posted by jlk5844

Saw a matinee of it Saturday. It was OK. I played the '13 game when it came out and that was excellent, a lot of fun and a darker take on the Tomb Raider story with focus more on survival than raiding tombs. It was refreshing to see the beginnings of an iconic character, reimagined to be less sexualized and guns-blazing and more scrappy and vulnerable, entering her journey before she became the legendary badass, and seeing that transformation start to take place.

[Show spoiler]This movie takes its cues from that game as opposed to the earlier ones which we saw cinematically realized in two bad, if enjoyable, Angelina Jolie action films. I was happy about that, since I loved the game (was the first TR game I had played in awhile, and I found that version of the character more compelling), and was excited to see a new movie since I've always had a fondness for the franchise. Alicia Vikander steps into the role this time, an actress I've become a fan of since she is supremely talented and beautiful. Roar Uthaug is directing, which I was sort've mixed on, but he did direct a fairly well-received disaster movie, The Wave, a few years back. Along with the stunning official images released early on that clearly resemble the game, this was looking like it could be the best video game movie yet. A low bar to clear, but invigorating nonetheless.

It's not. Nope. Or, at least, it's not easily the best. Though it's certainly up there with them, and it's superior to the Jolie efforts. Vikander is terrific and the best thing the film has going for it, ergo why they touted her Academy Award-winning status in the trailer. In a movie that struggles to giver her a real character with depth, she gives it her all, and sells the emotion and athleticism (she got f*cking ripped, abs of steel!). Lara is strong in those senses, but she's not complex as written on the page, and unfortunately the plot about finding her father is the extent of her characterization. That, and spunkiness. I didn't care much about the plot. We get brief flashback scenes between a child Lara and her father that always see him departing, and so we never get strong, human insight into their relationship. This absolutely cripples our interest in her adventure, because we don't care about their potential reunion, the sole reason she's embarking on this dangerous quest. Plus, it's a pretty shallow, flat attempt at character development.

That boils down what is the movie's biggest problem: the script. The story simply isn't all that interesting, and it's frustrating because of the potential behind it. It's mostly jumping from set-piece to set-piece, instead of zeroing in on its protagonist and telling a compelling, emotional, truly visceral tale of survival, discovery, bravery, and evolution. I can visualize the movie that it should've been in my head, and I knew it wasn't going to be that after seeing the marketing, but it's disappointing anyway. These video game adaptations really aren't rocket science to figure out, the studios just need to hire auteur filmmakers, the best in the business, or proven independent directors and writers. You can't just throw in a talented actor and rely on the name, and the look of the game, cause then you end up with the experience of essentially watching someone playing a game for two hours.

To be fair, this is competently directed. It's actually very well-directed at times, particularly the action scenes. Aside from a bicycle race and dock chase at the beginning, they're pretty much lifted from the game, but they're well-shot and exciting. About that beginning, I found it to be rushed and bland, like a weaker Fast & Furious entry. I though things improved once the boat crashes and she reaches the island, which thankfully comprises the majority of the movie. Still, while the film cycles through the game's big moments and handles them appreciably, they're not as impactful and lasting as they could be (like

[Show spoiler]Lara's first kill

). Walton Goggins should get a mention, because he's a great actor and a great casting choice for the villain. It's a shame however that, yep, he's not given enough to work with. He has to substitute pointing a gun around for menace and his motivation is terribly under-explored, but he does what he can and still manages some presence. I'll also give a shout-out to the score by Junkie XL, which elevated things.

Overall, Tomb Raider is a decent but kinda forgettable B-movie that'll kill time if nothing else. Good for popcorn munching at a matinee or a rental at home. The performances, especially a game lead actress, the entertaining action, some solid visuals, and capable direction do their best to upgrade a mediocre screenplay. I had some fun with it, as a fan, and not gonna lie a sweaty, grimy Alicia Vikander in a tank top is nice to look at, so that helped things. It is disappointing that the curse lives on and this couldn't be the harrowing, thrilling, powerful character study/actioner I wanted it to be, but if a sequel materializes (which this movie's ending seems so sure about), I would hope they hire writers who care about character, and a more established director.

2.5/5

Your entire review is on point.

[jlk5844]

Yeah, I don't have a problem with unoriginality as long as the movie/game/book/etc. is great. Innovation doesn't mean much if ultimately the quality of the thing isn't good, which is what matters. Not crapping on the original TR games (which are also acclaimed), I've not yet played them, but speaking in a general sense. It goes back to that Roger Ebert quote: "It's not what a movie is about, it's how it is about it." Same can be said for video games.

[jlk5844]

Originally Posted by Leonidas_King

Your entire review is on point.

Thanks, I feel like the only one in this thread who was lukewarm about it, or very critical. Most seem to love it. It's all praise on the 4K UHD pre-order thread too, but I'd expect it more there.

It's not a bad movie, but it's not a truly good one. Though I wish this movie would've been taken more seriously (props, however, for hiring an Academy Award-winning actress and an Emmy-nominated actor, a good composer and the director isn't by any means a hack), at the end of the day it is still enjoyable. I really would welcome a sequel, and it seems we may get one.

[DrWally]

This was a surprisingly enjoyable movie. I wouldn't be averse to a sequel.

[NeoVisionist]

Haven't seen this, but I like the look of the reboot game (haven't played that, either, lol). Based upon that, would this make a safe blind buy? I don't like cheese (which the Jolie films had a lot of) in this kind of story; give me brutality and mean spirited grit any day.

Is it an origin story for the character? Hopefully in that case they make a second as these first films often set up a beloved character only to languish without a sequel to, you know, actually give us the character we know and love doing their thing properly (Ghost In The Shell from last year comes to mind)...

[morphinapg]

Originally Posted by NeoVisionist

Haven't seen this, but I like the look of the reboot game (haven't played that, either, lol). Based upon that, would this make a safe blind buy? I don't like cheese (which the Jolie films had a lot of) in this kind of story; give me brutality and mean spirited grit any day.

Is it an origin story for the character? Hopefully in that case they make a second as these first films often set up a beloved character only to languish without a sequel to, you know, actually give us the character we know and love doing their thing properly (Ghost In The Shell from last year comes to mind)...

Yeah I would recommend it based on what you said.

Sent from my OnePlus One using Tapatalk

[borgmatrix]

Originally Posted by jlk5844

Thanks, I feel like the only one in this thread who was lukewarm about it, or very critical.

I'm with you. There's was nothing especially objectionable, but also not a lot that really stood out. The movie had the most life during sequences in the latter half of the movie, not coincidentally in settings we expect to see Lara in. If only they could have shortened the opening, taken more of ANH approach in getting us into the thick of things sooner. Some of the early action/chase sequences were diverting enough, but hardly weighty or even needed.

I like Vikander in the role. I thought the casting around her was solid. Ably directed, as you'd pointed out in your review. If they could have given us more of what we saw during the latter half...

[Kevinicus]

Originally Posted by jacobsever

No, clearly I didn't. I got all of that information from the trailer.

Well it certainly didn't seem like you got it from the actual film.

[KnightOfCydonia]

Alicia Vikander really sold this movie for me. She was vulnerable but super badass at the same time, really helped the dramatic scenes flow better.

[s2mikey]

Originally Posted by Leonidas_King

Your entire review is on point.

Yeah - this review and many others like it are why I wont be blind buying it. No biggy, rentals are your friend