Tomb Raider is one of those franchise universes I loved playing and following because of the locations. From lost catacombs in Peru to Egypt, China to Greece, Cambodia and back to Egypt, the original games went to a whole ton of places where I happily followed along. The films took her to Cambodia, Italy, Greece and Africa. The reboot stuck to a jungle island in the Devil’s Sea (off Japan) and the followup went to remote parts of Russia. Both were very enjoyable plays, but I missed the crazy fantastique from the early games.
The original movies and games, to which longtime fans will recall, had Lara Croft globetrotting to picturesque ancient worlds to deal with ancient evils. If she was not the figure digging for the truth, either her allies or enemies were. However cheesy these films were, those movies belonged in the so bad it’s good category. When Angelina Jolie declined to reprise her role for a third film, the time was ripe to start the games anew. Of course, that meant the movie universe needs to follow suit.
This version of Lara (Alicia Vikander) has no archaeological training. She’s a young lady on the run not only from her past but also her future. She’s a spunky lass with no proper future in sight; she has daddy issues. This part of the plot defines the core of the film and narrative-wise, this re-imaging is off to a good start.
Continue reading “Where’s the Ancient History in Tomb Raider That We All Love?”
Croft is one of those fan films that can and will surprise you. It’s not the acting that will wow you (although it is decent) and it’s not the beautiful filming locations (the woods of British Columbia), no, what will take your breath away is the tight writing and the amazing fight choreography.
In the past three decades Hollywood has recognized the appeal of adapting popular video games to film. They provide a ready-made audience of fans who will most likely see them, and some have become cult classics. These videogame movies are memorable because at some point in time, they’ll be broadcast television for all the world to see. Usually the adaptation is a fun romp in the director’s part in translating pixels to a more realistic product. More often than not, the video game’s appeal is missed in the translation and critics and fans are quick to point out what’s missing in the film. In this look at the worst of what cinema had to offer, maybe they are gems after all: