Tomb Raider (2018)

[y2jman]

well I really wasn't sure if I would had like this reboot, since always like Angelina jolie ones<-prob not 2nd that much

anyways I thought Alicia did an excellent job as being new lara croft can't wait 2nd movie in the future

[morphinapg]

Originally Posted by BrandonJF

Yeah, that is definitely true. That's really where they dropped the ball the most and I don't really understand it. What was Lara's arc?

[Show spoiler]She went from losing in hand to hand combat to winning?

It seemed like they were going out of their way to go left where the game went right. Maybe so people familiar with the game could be surprised? Mission accomplished, I guess.

They certainly still had plenty of fan service that sustained me through it. It was weird - I'd be disappointed in something they "changed" while thinking "cool" a minute later.

And I'm not against change - they did not have to follow the game for me to be happy. But, what they came up with was not better than the game.

Some of these games really are written better than many big budget action movies.

When you have a 12 hour story, you have some extra room for better writing.

[morphinapg]

When I rated this movie, I did it from the position of asking myself what I would have thought if I hadn't played the game before. As much as it's great to see the game references, the movie is really intended to expand the audience to people who are unfamiliar with the games. Ultimately, while based on it, the movie is a different universe, so just like with comic or book adaptations, I prefer to review the movie as its own thing. If I had never played or even heard of the rebooted game series, seeing Tomb Raider like this would have blown me away. While the story details are different, they do make a lot of sense for a more general audience, and the movie still retains most of what made me fall in love with the new games. That being said, the acting was good, but not mind blowing, and the same can be said of most technical aspects of the movie. So I ended up giving the movie an 82. If I had factored in the differences compared to the game, it probably would have been more like a 75, but either way, it's still a solid movie

[Blu Myers]

So Lara Croft punches a guy square in the balls (hard) at the end and he kept fighting like nothing happened. That's a big load of bullshit right there.

But seriously, Tomb Raider is pretty much a wasted effort. A BIG problem is making our heroine completely indestructible. Her body slams into rocks at least a dozen times, and most of the action is just running.

Also, the characters are completely uninteresting, which is a crime when you have Walton Goggins at your disposal. And we get a twist ending that has no payoff because nothing has been built up to make it interesting.

Alicia Vikander is definitely serviceable as Lara Croft, and is more than welcome for a return as the female adventurer, but a weak script and uninteresting characters ultimate hold this one back.

2/5

[Leonidas King]

Originally Posted by BrandonJF

Yeah, that is definitely true. That's really where they dropped the ball the most and I don't really understand it. What was Lara's arc?

[Show spoiler]She went from losing in hand to hand combat to winning?

It seemed like they were going out of their way to go left where the game went right. Maybe so people familiar with the game could be surprised? Mission accomplished, I guess.

They certainly still had plenty of fan service that sustained me through it. It was weird - I'd be disappointed in something they "changed" while thinking "cool" a minute later.

And I'm not against change - they did not have to follow the game for me to be happy. But, what they came up with was not better than the game.

Some of these games really are written better than many big budget action movies.

We get to experience different growths and transformations of her character in the game that really really lacked in the film. For example, you start off with a very vulnerable Lara that’s incapable of doing many things on her own. As the game progresses you really do connect and sympathize with her as she becomes stronger, smarter and more skilled in everything she does.

[Beefbowl]

Originally Posted by phobicsquirrel

Blue? I'm intrigued

She plays Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy.

[ScarredLungs]

Throughly enjoyed it. No complaints from me. I would love to have a sequel.

[RalphoR]

With all the groaning and griping in this thread only one person so far gave TR less than 3 stars.

cf4afac9410f7440943a70a7fdcaf7aac9a6adf2ef5d33e47cc94bafdbad2c88.jpg

[Kylo Ren]

^ Still early, but it seems like fans are mostly enjoying the film. The fan rating on RT is currently at 74% and a 3.8/5.0 rating. It seems like most of the critics just didn't like the film because it was a "video game movie" and they don't want their credibility to be trashed because they said a video game movie was great.

[dallywhitty]

Originally Posted by Leonidas_King

It's very mediocre. Didn't hate it but I most certainly did not love it.

Still not even the best video game movie to be made

Jolie will always remain the best Lara

[Leonidas King]

Originally Posted by dallywhitty

[Show spoiler]

That actually really made me LOL

Dude, I did not like it enough

I made a list of the things I hated. Don’t know if you saw it.

[leburn98]

Originally Posted by Leonidas_King

We get to experience different growths and transformations of her character in the game that really really lacked in the film. For example, you start off with a very vulnerable Lara that’s incapable of doing many things on her own. As the game progresses you really do connect and sympathize with her as she becomes stronger, smarter and more skilled in everything she does.

A game also has 10-15 hours to establish that. That type of progression would be best suited in a TV/Mini Series (OMG I would love a series ). I'm not saying it couldn't work in a feature film, but at that point you are essentially making a Cast Away film featuring Lara Croft and not an action-adventure film.

My brief thoughts on the film:

As a fan of the games, I decided to bring someone who had not played or was familiar with the games. The only thing I told her was that Lara was an adventurer ala Indiana Jones and that this was her origin story/first adventure. I wanted her to go in fresh to see how our opinions of the film may or may not have differed. I'm happy to say that we both liked it.

So regarding establishing the character, she thought that the introduction to Lara was perfect for setting up what she would later become. Even as a fan of vulnerable Lara in the Tomb Raider reboot, I have to agree. The fight in the beginning and the

[Show spoiler]fox hunt race

, did a great job at showing how tough, savvy, and athletic Lara really is. It then makes it all the more believable that this Lara would survive the events forced upon her later on in the film. In that aspect, the film mostly succeeds.

Contrast this with the game, granted it's be a while since I played Tomb Raider (2013), I believe there was never a single inclination that Lara would be so capable of the climbing, shooting and running that she does in that game.

The only complaint my friend had was how quickly Lara

[Show spoiler]went from being distraught from taking her first human life to becoming a straight up killer

. Funny enough that is the same criticisms many had with Tomb Raider (2013).

As for my thoughts on the film, I liked it overall and feel like this is a decent jumping off point for future adventures if given a chance.

The good:

• Alicia Vikander is excellent as Lara Croft. This Lara is obviously based on rebooted Lara and acts and looks the part. This is not the big breasted, gun toting Lara of old.
• I liked Dominic West as Lara's father
• I liked the fighting sequences. I felt they did a good job at making them seem grounded and somewhat believable.
• Much like the game it is based on, they are not afraid to rough up Lara. I particularly like the scene where
  [Show spoiler]she removes the piece of wood from her abdomen after she lands with the parachute, an obvious nod to the first game (reboot) where she does the same thing with a piece of rebar.
• The cinematography is very good. This looks like the Tomb Raider reboot. I swear that some scenes/shots could be used as promotional art for the game and nobody would blink an eye.

The bad:

• I thought the main villain was kinda weak. Essentially in the film because Lara needed a baddie to fight. With that said, I thought the actor (Walton Goggins) did a decent job with what he was given.
• Daniel Wu as Lu Ren was severely underutilized. He's mostly there to serve the plot when need be.

My score: 3.5/5 (rounded to a 4 for the poll). A solid night at the movies.

[dallywhitty]

Originally Posted by Leonidas_King

That actually really made me LOL

Dude, I did not like it enough

I made a list of the things I hated. Don’t know if you saw it.

I'm gonna go through your list and outline why you're horribly wrong.

Her being a courier. She has no reason to be doing that!

What, you got beef with couriers, hoe!?

For a moment I thought I was revisiting Premium Rush in the opening.

I liked the fox hunt scene! It also showed Lara using her brains, e.g. the bit where she uses the truck to throw the guys off her trail.

The horrible song selections they went with in the beginning.

Yeah, I'm with you there. I actually got flashbacks to the 2001 film (which I otherwise like, of course).

The Asian gang so obsessed with stealing her bag just so they can add some momentum to a boring start.

What, you got beef with Asian gangs, hoe!?

We don’t get to see at all Lara crafting arrows, fixing up her wounds, etc like in the reboot game (major turn off).

Didn't bother me. It's a two hour film, so naturally they had to dial down on the survival aspects. Same reason we didn't see Lara kill a deer for food.

[Show spoiler]The father actually being in the island and actually taking part of Lara’s adventure (another major turn off)

.

I didn't have a major problem with it, though I understand why some do.

[Show spoiler]It might have been stronger had he actually been killed by Mathias, and Lara having to accept it.

The villain was weak and uninteresting.

No different to the Mathias of the game. Lololololol.

The third act felt rushed.

But she solved puzzles and activated traps and performed really big jumps! Hnnnnnnnnnng.

[morphinapg]

Originally Posted by leburn98

A game also has 10-15 hours to establish that. That type of progression would be best suited in a TV/Mini Series (OMG I would love a series ). I'm not saying it couldn't work in a feature film, but at that point you are essentially making a Cast Away film featuring Lara Croft and not an action-adventure film.

My brief thoughts on the film:

As a fan of the games, I decided to bring someone who had not played or was familiar with the games. The only thing I told her was that Lara was an adventurer ala Indiana Jones and that this was her origin story/first adventure. I wanted her to go in fresh to see how our opinions of the film may or may not have differed. I'm happy to say that we both liked it.

So regarding establishing the character, she thought that the introduction to Lara was perfect for setting up what she would later become. Even as a fan of vulnerable Lara in the Tomb Raider reboot, I have to agree. The fight in the beginning and the

[Show spoiler]fox hunt race

, did a great job at showing how tough, savvy, and athletic Lara really is. It then makes it all the more believable that this Lara would survive the events forced upon her later on in the film. In that aspect, the film mostly succeeds.

Contrast this with the game, granted it's be a while since I played Tomb Raider (2013), I believe there was never a single inclination that Lara would be so capable of the climbing, shooting and running that she does in that game.

The only complaint my friend had was how quickly Lara

[Show spoiler]went from being distraught from taking her first human life to becoming a straight up killer

. Funny enough that is the same criticisms many had with Tomb Raider (2013).

As for my thoughts on the film, I liked it overall and fell that this is a decent jumping off point for future adventures if given a chance.

The good:

• Alicia Vikander is excellent as Lara Croft. This Lara is obviously based on rebooted Lara and acts and looks the part. This is not the big breasted, gun toting Lara of old.
• I liked Dominic West as Lara's father
• I liked the fighting sequences. I felt they did a good job at making them seem grounded and somewhat believable.
• Much like the game it is based on, they are not afraid to rough up Lara. I particularly like the scene where
  [Show spoiler]she removes the piece of wood from her abdomen after she lands with the parachute, an obvious nod to the first game (reboot) where she does the same thing with a piece of rebar.
• The cinematography is very good. This looks like the Tomb Raider reboot. I swear that some scenes/shots could be used as promotional art for the game and nobody would blink an eye.

The bad:

• I thought the main villain was kinda weak. Essentially in the film because Lara needed a baddie to fight. With that said, I thought the actor (Walton Goggins) did a decent job with what he was given.
• Daniel Wu as Lu Ren was severely underutilized. He's mostly there to serve the plot when need be.

My score: 3.5/5 (rounded to a 4 for the poll). A solid night at the movies.

Agree on just about every point but I rated it higher.

[crow2k5]

I had high hopes going to see this, i found it entertaining but nothing special, 2.5 out of 5 stars, i wanted to like it more but it was missing something, a great villian, more action, this could have been so mush more, felt like your average video game film.

[Leonidas King]

Originally Posted by dallywhitty

I actually got flashbacks to the 2001 film (which I otherwise like, of course).

In conclusion, I underestimated the 2001 version and it’s a downright masterpiece in comparison to this.

[Show spoiler]

Matter of fact, I was predispose to order both of them on 4K this afternoon after watching this cause I like them that much more

[Omegaice]

Originally Posted by Leonidas_King

In conclusion, I underestimated the 2001 version and it’s a downright masterpiece in comparison to this.

[Show spoiler]

Matter of fact, I was predispose to order both of them on 4K this afternoon after watching this cause I like them that much more

[Chaotic]

Vikander makes Jolie look like a joke in comparison.

[Leonidas King]

Originally Posted by Chaotic

Vikander makes Jolie look like a joke in comparison.

YouTube

[morphinapg]

I recently rewatched the Jolie movies. Absolutely terrible. And honestly, I much prefer the more realistic take on the character in the newer games and movie than what the character was like back then anyway.