• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Tomb Raider (2018)

crookeddy

crookeddy

Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
So did anyone see this movie? I saw it last night. It was a strange mix of genre tropes (slaves being used to do work for Super Evil Overlord) and trope breaking - main character was very tough, but also vulnerable. She didn't always win, and she got hurt often. Alicia Vikander really stole the show - she is Lara Croft now. Too bad the movie she was in was mediocre and not a financial success, so we're not likely to ever see her in the role again :-(
 
Yeah. Saw it at the weekend and enjoyed it. I would have liked to see another film with her in the main role, but I haven't been following the ticket sales so I wasn't sure how well it was doing. (I know our cinema was packed, but that's rarely an indicator)
 
It did great internationally, but I can't name any movies off the top of my head that flopped in the US and got a sequel based only on international numbers...
 
It was alright, but I liked it better when it was called “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”, which this movie structurally copies to a large extent IMO. The action pieces were pretty nice, but I don’t think Vikander really sold how exhausting all the running and jumping and falling and spearing things should really be, and there’s a whole lot of it! The plot ended up being pretty paint-by-numbers, not much more than I was expecting, but I was still entertained and didn’t think I wasted my time. It was worth the price I paid. Which was $0, having seen it for free at a sponsor promo, so I’m not complaining.

Mark
 
it takes the names of the first game, messes in plot elements of the second game into something that visually reminds me of the first game. I even played the first game to see all the 'scenes' play out. I would rather they had left off all of the beginning of the movie though and started on the ship. all that unnecessary origin story is dumb and spent more time on the actual tomb raider part.

Maybe even skipping the first game entirely and jumping right into the second intermixing background of the first game in...
 
Grade: B+

I saw it last weekend. I agree it was a blend of tropes and adventure sequences. Thematically I felt like at times I could pinpoint an Indiana Jones scene, a National Treasure scene or a Mummy scene. Overall I feel like this movie is worth recommending. I do not agree with it's RT score from critics or audiences. If I could I'd rank it at RT as I see fit but I can't see how to do that anymore. It used to be obvious but they've revamped the page some time back. I hate RT and how it so easily drives too many people folks away from things.

Alicia as Laura Croft shows more range than you'd think you might get from this character. She is bringing her 'A' game to this movie. I like adventure films of this sort. I've never once played a TR game, but have read a number of the comics. I feel it captured what I expected of a TR film and Alicia did a great job.

Goggins as Vogel, our bad guy does his job well. He's an actor I've always liked. I do feel the screenplay could've given us a bit more on him. Another combined 5 min could've made him a bit less two dimensional. There is enough in the movie to know his motivations I feel but they aren't lingered on.

West as Richard Croft is a predictable character. You can guess his story from the first act. However, the scenes with him and Alicia were quite believable and felt sincere.

Thomas as Ana Miller, the defacto guardian of Croft Industries and Laura. I felt like I could sense where this character might go. Hoped to be wrong. Not surprised when the reveal came.

Wu as Lu Ren, another character that perhaps another 5min of screenplay would've benefited. Like Vogel they give you the reason(s) he ends up aiding Laura but they don't linger. I like how the slave force also gave us a nice nod to why they would be loyal to Wu beyond just he's trying to help them escape. I'm trying to avoid a spoiler statement so pardon my vagueness. Apparently this actor is fairly known/popular in Asian cinema a friend told me and that may be why it opened well in China

The action scenes are great. At least one scene is Temple of Doom, another from the Raiders opening sequence. The more horror elements are a bit Mummy. The father/daughter stuff reminded me more of National Treasure and the Gates men.
Bottom line is if you like this type of film it's worth your time to check it out.
I'd like a sequel as things are very clearly set up for where Laura likely goes in a follow-up.
 
I've never seen the Angelina Jolie movies or played any version of the game, so all I knew going in was "Adventuress kicks lots of ass while looking for archaeological discoveries." Honestly, I was more interested in the cast (particularly Vikander, Goggins, and West) than anything else.

With basic expectations, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. It had nice shades of Indiana Jones without ripping it off, but it falls a bit short of being an instant classic like Raiders of the Ark, mostly due to some cliché plotting and dialogue. Ultimately, the performances lifted up the film than of the action, particularly Vikander as a tough, but vulnerable woman. Goggins and West are wonderful as always, but Vogel is no Boyd and Richard is no McNulty.

The action was a mixture of good intensity and video gamey, the latter of which was to to be expected. I did love the intense moments on the waterfall, where I felt like Lara was in genuine danger thanks to the excellent camera work. Of course, the back-tracked from that "realism" with the inevitable collapse of the tomb action sequence, but like I said, it was to be expected.

I could go either way with a sequel, but I did like how they set it up with Richard's former business associate as the new bad guy of the shadowy Trinity (assume it's from the games?).
 
This is the last week that it's playing at the discount theater here, so I finally saw it. I thought it was OK but lacked the bouncy fun of the 2001 Angelina Jolie movie. Alicia Vikander gave a nice performance but I thought she came across as a bit too young. I prefer Jolie as an older, slightly more posh Lara Croft.

crookeddy said:
It did great internationally, but I can't name any movies off the top of my head that flopped in the US and got a sequel based only on international numbers...
Click to expand...

I seem to recall that the last couple Pirates of the Caribbean and Transformers movies did a lot better in the foreign markets than they did here.
 
The Borgified Corpse said:
This is the last week that it's playing at the discount theater here, so I finally saw it. I thought it was OK but lacked the bouncy fun of the 2001 Angelina Jolie movie. Alicia Vikander gave a nice performance but I thought she came across as a bit too young. I prefer Jolie as an older, slightly more posh Lara Croft.



I seem to recall that the last couple Pirates of the Caribbean and Transformers movies did a lot better in the foreign markets than they did here.
Click to expand...

Neither of them would be considered a flop domestically though.
 
I have intentionally got out of the ritual of buying DVD/BluRays for most movies vs say a decade ago.
Knowing that 75% or greater of what I want is out there on another platform I'm subscribed to has curbed that a lot.
However, I made an exception for this film. I bought Alicia V's Tomb Raider in an effort to show the bean counters that yes there is a fandom for this film. We'd like another entry please as the films ends in a nice place with some good foundations on which to build a franchise.

Probably won't matter but I got the DVD all the same.
 
The Borgified Corpse said:
This is the last week that it's playing at the discount theater here, so I finally saw it. I thought it was OK but lacked the bouncy fun of the 2001 Angelina Jolie movie. Alicia Vikander gave a nice performance but I thought she came across as a bit too young. I prefer Jolie as an older, slightly more posh Lara Croft.
Click to expand...
The casting and stories really reflect on the nature of the games at the time of their release with the rebooted games featuring a younger, more inexperienced, Lara. While I could see preferring one over the other it's kind of an oddity to see movies get it somewhat right when it comes to video game adaptations.
 
What struck me was that, in the mid-credits scene, we finally see Lara get the 2 guns and I felt like I was only just now finally seeing the character that I had been wanting & expecting for the whole film.
 
Not that reality intrudes anywhere in this film, but can you really just buy a pair of handguns off the cuff in a British pawn shop?
 
Finally saw this and am not surprised to search for a thread on it and see it has limited response.

It was mediocre, bland, kind of boring and the lead was uninspiring.

Dud.
 
Asbo Zaprudder said:
No. Modern, working handguns are illegal to own in any case, following the Dunblane massacre. Deactivated handguns that cannot be fired require a certificate I believe.
https://www.real-gun.com/deactivated.html
Click to expand...

It’s why they needed to intimate a bit more that the pawn shop was seriously shady. Tbh. Whilst it was funny, it really wasn’t great, and those scenes needed cutting or reworking. Like it needed to be it was a front for MI6 and Lara got a tap on the shoulder or something, but that takes it further into James Bond territory than would be good for Lara. As it stands, it looks more like gangland intruding. A bit uncharted.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

ColdFusion180
Star Trek: Lower Decks - CF073 - "Sub Rutherford"
Replies
1
Views
660
Robert Bruce Scott
Robert Bruce Scott
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top