Review: TOMB RAIDER is a Savagely Fun Adventure Film

For those of you who were hoping that the new Tomb Raider film would be good... you’re in luck because it turned out to be freakin’ awesome! At least that's my opinion of it. Obviously, not everyone will like the film and some people will go into it looking for problems, but if you go into the theater looking for a good time... you're going to get it.

Tomb Raider is one of my favorite video franchises so it was great to see that it actually got a decent film adaptation. I think Tomb Raider is easily one of the better video game films that have been made. It might even be one of the best.

When Alicia Vikander was cast in the role of Lara Croft, I knew she would deliver a solid performance because she's a great actor. But she went above and beyond what I was expecting! She brought a crazy amount of intensity to the character and you could tell she was having fun making this movie. Watching her as Lara Croft was one of my favorite things about the film because I don’t think anyone else could have pulled it off like she did. The movie also starred Daniel Wu, Dominic West and Walton Goggins and they all gave solid performances as the characters they played. 

I think the story and script had a certain kind of Marvel movie quality to them. Tomb Raider had a good mix of drama, humor, and of course some intense action sequences. I think a lot of fans of the franchise are going to have a blast watching this thing. I liked that the movie had fun incorporating certain aspects of the game into the film.

Another one of the other things about Tomb Raider that I liked was how brutal it was. Lara Croft went through all kinds of hardcore obstacles. There was nothing easy about the adventure that she embarks on and she gets the shit beat out of her, but at the same time she manages to push through the pain like the badass that she is and kick ass. There was a savageness to the film that made it pop.

I was obviously really happy with what Roar Uthaug did with the movie. I thought his previous movie The Wave was great and he definitely brought his strengths from that film to Tomb Raider. I was impressed enough with what he did with the film that I can't wait to see what he does next, and if the studio wants to make a Tomb Raider sequel, I hope he comes back to make it.

Look, the movie isn't perfect. It has its issues, but those problems didn't ruin the entertainment factor for me. One thing I think could've been handled better was Goggins' villainous character. He just seemed a little too over the top but I think Goggins did the best he could with what he had to work with. The movie was made to entertain people and fans, not to win awards, and it totally delivered on the action-packed adventure entertainment factor. 

I think that if you like what you saw of the film in the trailers and clips that you've seen for Tomb Raider, you'll enjoy the movie.