This post contains my thoughts on the latest Tomb Raider (2018) film, but it will contain no major spoilers.

I went to see the latest Tomb Raider film yesterday, which features Alicia Vikander as the newest incarnation of the famous treasure-hunting heroine Lara Croft. It was pretty much what I expected: an average action film. It wasn’t boring, but it wasn’t that thrilling either. I don’t consider myself a fan of the Lara Croft franchise and I’ve never watched more than just a few scenes of the Angelina Jolie films. But I did enjoy the 2013 reboot game (which was simply titled Tomb Raider) and that’s the reason I wanted to see this film, which, if you’ve seen the trailer, is quite obviously based on that game. The film, however, only takes certain elements from the 2013 game, adds a few new ones (particularly at the beginning) and mixes them together with a couple of plot points from the sequel game to produce an alternate version of Lara’s origin story. In the end, the film just feels like a scaled down version of the game. But I guess this has to be expected to some degree. After all, the film’s running time is only about two hours, while the game’s playing time is much, much longer.

One important difference worth noting between the game and the film is to do with Lara’s companions. The game featured a group of them, while the film only has the one. I’m not sure this set-up works, as a few more supporting characters would have given a bit more depth to the story. As it is, the lone companion effectively plays two roles. At first, he is a mere ruffian, but he very quickly becomes a hero. The plot gives a reason for this change, of course, but it’s very sudden, which makes it hard to swallow.

And what did I think about Ms Vikander’s performance? It was very good. I honestly don’t know much about her, but yesterday I found out she won an Oscar for her supporting role in The Danish Girl, two years ago. So with that it mind, it’s clear she has acting ability, although I do think she was let down slightly by the script, especially at the start of the film, where she had to deliver some sit-com level humour. After the proper adventure gets going, though, the dialogue becomes less important and she does a great job of showing a range of expressions, such as pain and fear, just to name two. And she really does throw herself around. I remember thinking that Ms Vikander seemed a bit on the frail side to portray a female Indiana Jones, but the physique she developed for the film is impressive.You only need to look at her abs. They look rock solid!

So that’s it for my thoughts on Tomb Raider. There has been another bit of Tomb Raider-related news this week, but I’ll leave that for another post. Till next time, au revoir, arrivederci and may the force be with you!😊