If you want the short version, it's a good adaptation of the source material, but the jury's still out on whether it's a great one. Maybe by the end of this short review I'll reach a verdict.
As you undoubtedly know,
Tomb Raider is based on the 2013 reboot of the game franchise (and to an extent, its sequel and intervening comics) and stars Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft. Right off the bat, you can tell this Lara is nowhere close to the playful tomb raiding expert played by Angelina Jolie in the previous movies. Vikander's Lara is not a confident fighter nor an expert archaeologist, not to mention she's penniless, getting by as a bike courier. The reason why is explained early on in the movie and I found it to be quite satisfactory considering Lara's character. In fact, for a good chunk of the movie I didn't feel like I was watching a videogame movie, and that's because the director approaches it rather more seriously, at times mirroring what Spielberg and Lucas did with
Indiana Jones. Lara's motivation for her Yamatai expedition however, is radically different, and I don't think I'm spoiling anything by saying she's driven there because it was her late father's last case, as it were, and Lara's undoubtedly hoping to find clues of what happened to him. Unfortunately, since she's neither an archaeology graduate like in the game nor does she have any money, the expedition she's able to fund consists of a single additional character, Lu Ren, captain of the
Endurance. This makes for less rich interactions than those of the game where you brought along Jonah, Reyes, Whitman, Roth, Grim, and Lara's best friend (and perhaps more?), Sam, but I think Lara and Lu Ren worked well off each other. Of course, the video game takes over 10 hours to complete so we also have a lot more time to develop the characters, have them interact with each other, and explain the island's history and mythology.
Since we mentioned the island's mythology, we might as well talk Himiko. While still a Queen, the movie's mythology doesn't have her controlling the weather for her own nefarious purposes but being a bloodthirsty avatar of death, to the point her own generals rebelled against her and entombed her on Yamatai. Trinity is also present in the movie in the form of Mathias Vogel, a contract mercenary who's been contracted to find Himiko's final resting place and has been trying to do so for the past seven years. The movie, by way of Richard Croft's recordings (what reminded me of
Rise), beats you over the head that if Trinity finds Himiko it's game over for the world as we know it, but it never really explains why. Does Trinity hope to resurrect Himiko? Can they even do this? This works in the game because the Solarii are pretty much deranged and they hope Himiko's resurrection will grant them a way off the island (tying Himiko to the weather makes more sense all things considered), but in the movie it's a bit vague. As you also gathered from the trailer, there are a few traps that our heroine must overcome to find Himiko's tomb, and while I did get a very strong
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade vibe from it, they're not nearly as good, and one of them is rather convoluted (to put it mildly). Hopefully, if and when Lara becomes more of an archaeologist, we'll get some more rewarding puzzles. Still, they're not Jolie's
Tomb Raider levels of bad or far-fetched by any stretch.
Another thing this movie pulls off rather well, to my mind, is its depiction of Lara's physical and psychological pain while in the island. There are many examples of this in the game and, in fact, this theme is continued in the comics, going so far as to suggest Lara's an adrenaline junkie, actively looking for or placing herself in dangerous situations for the thrill of it. In this movie you can feel Lara's fear and pain as she escapes Vogel's men. This chase incorporates several elements or situations from the video game and perhaps you will find it drags on a bit longer than it should although, personally, I had no qualms with its length. But, damn, I was not expecting the extremely uncomfortable sounds Vikander makes when she's hurt, almost as if they were lifted from the video game itself, reinforcing the harsh reality of it all. And the raw nature of her fight with one of Vogel's men, the shock, the revulsion, the pain, the sadness, so many emotions show on her face when she's forced to kill him with her own hands... Damn. It is such a shame then that this amazing scene, that you would never in a million years find in Jolie's
Tomb Raider (nor most videogame adaptations for that matter), is undercut almost immediately by the scene that follows. I'm about discuss spoilers at length so read at your own discretion.
The movie pulls a twist I did not expect here by revealing her father is actually alive and, having failed to escape the island numerous times, he decided to stay and plant false leads as to the location of Himiko's tomb. I felt their reunion was very touching, with neither being entirely sure whether the other was real or not. I wished they had played more with this idea though, delaying the reveal for a few more seconds and reinforcing the notion that maybe Lara was being delirious (her wound earlier could've contribuyed to this). They also wasted a great opportunity to have Richard confront and comfort Lara regarding the traumatic event that she just went through. After all, he did see the entire thing go down apparently. Ultimately, her father being alive was a welcome change and one that plays into Lara's motivation for helping Vogel reach Himiko's tomb. Unlike the more mature Lara Croft that we know, the one who would probably help Vogel to satiate her own curiosity, Vikander's Lara is now, understandably, only concerned with getting her father back and, therefore, escaping the island. Lara doesn't believe finding Himiko will spell doom for the entire world like her father does. She does have a change of heart though when she finds out, in another welcome twist that may remind you of Uncharted, that Himiko was a carrier for a deadly virus that spreads through touch and apparently turns people into zombies. Fortunately, this is not exaggerated as in, say, Resident Evil, and it does explain why an organization like Trinity would want to find Himiko. It does strike me as odd that they would risk losing the entire expedition to this disease and not warn Vogel to take precautions. Then again, it's likely they were only aware of the legend and wanted to find out if there was some truth to it.
Since we're in spoilers, the convoluted trap I mentioned earlier is, obviously, the light puzzle. I almost laughed when Vogel and her father started handing her so many coloured crystals! A good point is made in AngryJoe's review that it almost seems like this trap is unsolvable, in that it shouldn't work. Is there some kind of light sensor that can detect the green light and open the door? Do the crystals weigh differently? How does this trap work? This one puzzle can harm your suspension of disbelief for sure. The rest were fairly standard and, why not, underwhelming.
Does Lara ultimately become the Tomb Raider we all know and love? Hardly, but she does get her fortune back so that's a start. It's such a shame they felt compelled to hint at a sequel in such a heavy-handed way. You could've made the same reveal more contained and impactful. In fact, they could've built the sequel entirely on that premise without revealing anything until, I dunno, midway through the movie. You can also see it coming miles away, in no small part thanks to the games it draws from. I doubt it will
rise to the task. Get it? 'cause
Rise... Ehem. The movie ends in a humorous and self-referential note that I could've done without, honestly. In hindsight, I would've loved it if the last scene in the movie had been of Lara finally attending university to study archaeology (her curiosity having being piqued by these events) and meeting Sam there (okay, that last part would've been a bonus).
Is the movie better than the game? No, there's no way it could've been either. Do I think it was a solid adaptation of the source material? Yes, yes I do. They managed to deftly incorporate a lot of the elements of the game. For instance, there's a scene in the movie where Lara infiltrates Vogel's camp that reminded me so much of when I sneak around in the game. On the other hand, Lara does get used to the idea of killing people awfully fast, doesn't she? To be fair, the same happens in the game. I can still fondly remember Lara carrying her trusty AK-47 and shouting, "Come at me, bro!" to her enemies. Ah, good times! To sum up, it's one of the better videogame adaptations out there and I definitely recommend watching it if you're a fan of the game.
7-8/10.