To say video game movies have a rather rancid reputation would be stating the obvious and putting things generously. Let me put it this way: it's a bad sign when pretty much every movie in this genre has been reviled by pretty much everyone. Critics rag on them and audiences would rather watch anything else. Can I say that Tomb Raider is a good movie on its own merits? Totally. While I can't say this film will break the Video Game Movie curse so to speak, it's probably the closest we've gotten to a cinematic video game adaptation that's even remotely good.
Special praise should be given to the technical stuff. The whole production looks handsome (in part due to the locations and inspired yet familiar production design). All of the action is tense and engaging. Somehow, it manages to feel tactile and occasionally brutal despite it being a relatively soft PG-13. Near the end of the second act, there's a setpiece that feels like the right way to go when translating game mechanics to the silver screen in a way that's inventive and fun. I won't go into much detail because I don't like spoiling even minor details such as that in my reviews. Suffice it to say, I thought it was pretty cool.
Outside of the leads, the acting is fine even if it's not worth writing home about. Nevertheless, I will say that Alicia Vikander makes for a pretty terrific Lara Croft. Sure, the screenplay leaves a bit to be desired in regards to characters; but, she does have a commanding screen presence and is even able to sneak in a couple one-liners every now and then. Oh wait, almost forgot that Nick Frost has a fun little cameo. He's always fun when he pops up in movies.
A lot of my nitpicks are pretty minor. Walton Goggins turns in some serviceable work as the film's antagonist; but, come on. You've got Walton Goggins in your movie and you don't have a single moment where he's even remotely over-the-top? Now, that's a waste of a perfectly good Goggins right there, my friends. Again, there's definitely room for more character development and proper emotional moments in between all the action. There's even a routine franchise-starter ending with a twist that feels far too out of the blue to have any dramatic impact. To put it in a less pragmatic fashion, it was pretty stupid and kind of pointless. Plus, this film has already shown to have an okay command of using narrative foreshadowing and callbacks. So, I can't see how this turned out weaker than those instances.
Tomb Raider may just be a shot in the dark for this kind of movie (I hope to God it isn't). For now, I'll say that it's a perfectly serviceable adventure flick with some nifty action sequences and a solid lead. Fans of the newer games will probably get a kick out of this. As a film fan and a casual gamer, I sure did. Really, there isn't much more to say about it than that. If you're interested it or have a fondness for pulpy adventure escapism, you could do a lot worse than this.
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