'Tomb Raider' Movie Review Roundup: Vikander Up to the Task Despite Uninspired Story

By Edward Leano, Christian Post Contributor Friday, March 16, 2018

"Tomb Raider," the movie featuring Alicia Vikander as the new Lara Croft in a franchise reboot, has been out in theaters since Friday, March 16. How does the new Lara fare with the critics and reviewers?

To sum it up, there are two camps when it comes to the new "Tomb Raider," one calling it a tired rehash of the original series featuring Angelina Jolie and her short shorts, while the other noting how the movie made progress, especially with the portrayal of the heroine.

It's this somewhat uneven split that now pegs the Tomatometer for the new "Tomb Raider" over at Rotten Tomatoes at a sub-par 48 percent. Fifty-seven of the reviews certified the new action adventure as "Fresh," while the majority disses the movie as Rotten, with 61 disappointed reviews as of this time.

Todd McCarthy of the Hollywood Reporter found the movie a straight-up remake of the first "Tomb Raider" films that launched back in the early 2000s, when the new movie was supposed to be a reboot. Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft, however, is a bright spot in the movie otherwise made dreary by the clichéd supporting cast.

The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw, however, would disagree. For him, the fact that the movie took some inspiration from movies of the past like the original "Indiana Jones" films made for a good choice, while Vikander's casting turned out to be a less successful decision.

Overall, the new "Tomb Raider" looks to be another victim of the "Video Game Movie" curse, one that plagues big screen adaptations of video game characters with less than inspired performances and stories, as /FILM noted.

The video below is the second official trailer for "Tomb Raider," starring Alicia Vikander and directed by Roar Uthaug. The movie is out now in its first box-office weekend in cinemas everywhere.