Saturday, August 25, 2018

Movie review - "Tomb Raider" (2017) ** (warning: spoilers)

Disappointing lethargic reboot of the Lara Croft story which lacks pace and imagination. Alicia Vikander isn't as charismatic as Angelina Jolie but it's not her fault this doesn't work - she is likeable and pretty and has obviously worked out.

She doesn't have any sort of character to play - a plucky young thing who misses her dad seems to be about it. And her adventures are so uninteresting - she's working as a bike courier despite being an heiress, then goes to look for her dad and has some mediocre adventures.

There's no interesting twists, or bits of business, or support parts. Walter Goggins occasionally looks like he's going to go full Colonel Kurtz but never does; Dominic West seems to phone it in (there's not much he can do).

The most interesting bit is the reveal that her guardian Kirsten Scott Thomas is head of some nefarious organisation - this is a great idea. But they just use it at the end to set up the sequel - instead of in this film which needs it. Daniel Wu's character has potential - drunk ship captain on his own vengeance mission - but the film forgets him for most of the last act, when he should be more crucial.

The film sets up a bunch of other interesting support characters - Lara's best friend, that Indian boy with a crush on her, the cocky courier dude - and uses none of them. You might forgive this in the pilot of a TV series but this is meant to be a movie.

Occasionally the film sparks to life - an action sequence where Lara is crashed down some rocks. But it's just so underwhelming. It looks cheap too - there's little star wattage apart from the support cast and a lot of Lara's journey's feel circular.

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