Even though Tomb Raider video games, including the two Angelina Jolie-starring 2000s movies and the 2018 gritty reboot led by Alicia Vikander.
While Jolie's portrayal of the character is considered iconic, none of the movies left a mark on the cinema landscape and the reception of them ranges from mediocre to overwhelmingly negative. But the movies have their fans. Between calling Vikander a better Tomb Raider than Jolie, criticizing the few bold risks the movies make, and praising the screenplays, Redditors have strong feelings about the video game movies.
Tomb Raider (2018) Has The Same Plot As The Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. It's no secret that the video game series was heavily influenced by the Indiana Jones series in general, but the Redditor gets more specific, noting, "One diary made by the protagonist's Father describing the sacred place where something important rests; The same diary giving hints of how to the entrance of the sacred place."
But the 2018 movie can't be blamed for that, as that's exactly what happened in the very first Tomb Raider game. However, whether it's the movies or the games, the franchise has run that plot device into the ground. It feels like fans have seen Lara find out about centuries-old artifacts from her father's diary almost as much as audiences have seen Bruce Wayne's parents get murdered on Crime Alley.
The 2018 Movie Plot Twist Is Bad
Thegrandwitch has a list of criticisms about the 2018 reboot, starting with the fact that Lara is seemingly invincible. The character survives so many instances that should have resulted in death, but while that's a common criticism of the movie, the Redditor makes a bolder claim, "I hated how the plot twist ended up being that the relic was 'scientific' and not supernatural in nature."
The Tomb Raider franchise has always been about Lara searching for relics with supernatural powers, but in a more grounded plot twist, the supernatural aspect ended up being false. Though the doesn't like the twist, it's refreshing to see after so many Tomb Raider releases that use supernatural elements as an excuse to go without explaining anything.
Alicia Vikander Didn't Suit The Role
Ackerlilli thinks Vikander was miscast in the 2018 reboot, noting, "I hated Alicia's performance, she fits an action movie for sure but not Lara." But it sounds like the Redditor had more of a problem with the character's portrayal than the casting choice. The Reddit wanted to see classic Lara, but, instead, the film was more closely aligned with the 2013 video game.
In 2013, the video game series was completely rebooted. Instead of being a fun puzzle game with acrobat mechanics and cool weapons, the game was more grounded and told a realistic origin story. While it wasn't as entertaining as the previous games, it was fun to play in a different way, as there was a strategy and role-playing element with it being all about survival. In that respect, Vikander did a perfect job at playing Lara the survivalist.
Vikander Is The Better Lara Croft
It seems like there are fans on both ends of the spectrum. Where one Redditor argues that Vikander didn't suit the role, Anonymousss11 thinks that she was actually way better than Jolie. "Everyone here basically saying the same thing, they like Angelina because she was Laura first, but, honestly, if you set aside your nostalgia, Alicia is better."
Fans generally agree that Jolie best personified the video game character, as she looked the part, had the British accent down, and was a total badass. Though Vikander's performance wasn't bad in the slightest and she actually did some things better than Jolie, such as the survival aspect of the character, there's no topping Jolie's charisma.
There's Nothing Wrong With The 2001 Movie's Screenplays
KDRain395 is a huge defender of the tepidly received Lara Croft: Tomb Raider from 2001, mentioning, "All I wanted to see in the films is what I saw from the games: Lara being a total badass while raiding tombs and fighting bad guys and magical monsters." The movie delivered on that front and there's no denying that the movie is a fun and mostly faithful adaptation of the video game series.
Tomb Raider isn't as bad as critics think, but it would have been way better if the screenplay had a few more drafts. Some of it makes absolutely no sense, such as Lara practicing gun-fu against a robot in Croft Manor. She wouldn't be so cavalier about potential destruction to the manor. Also, any one of those bullets could ricochet off the test robot and seriously injure someone. Every following scene is full of eyebrow-raising plot holes like that.
The Cradle Of Life Is Great Too
Though the 2001 movie wasn't a critical success, it was enough of a box office hit to get a sequel greenlit. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life followed in 2003, but it was even more criticized than its predecessor. Despite coming two years later, the film somehow had worse effects than the original movie, and it made even less sense.
But Lara-Croft-Swan-Dive runs to the film's defense and refers to one sequence as mind-blowing, commenting "The part of Cradle of Life that blew me away was the very end when Lara and Terry parted ways." In fairness, the scene is shockingly emotional, as Lara learns that Terry is the man she thought he was and that he just wanted to profit off Pandora's Box like everyone else, which leads to her shooting him dead.
Jolie As Lara Is As Iconic As Schwarzenegger As The T-800
Jolie completely embodied Lara Croft and totally understood the spirit of the video game character. There's no denying that she is iconic in the role, but one Terminator series, "Her portrayal of a Lara and even the accent was fun to watch."
However, while Jolie is fun to watch in the role, there's no way she's as iconic as Arnie in The Terminator. Arnie has several lines of dialogue that have become incredibly popular to quote, whereas few viewers of Jolie's Tomb Raider movies could any lines. If she was as iconic, she would have been asked to return to reprise her role several times by now. Schwarzenegger has starred in five Terminator movies, and the only one he wasn't in even featured a CGI rendering of the actor.
It Shouldn't Get Rebooted
Now that MGM has just lost the licensing rights to the property, there's a bidding war in Hollywood to get the character, which could last weeks. That means that there will without a doubt be another reboot in development soon enough. Spider-Man where it keeps getting rebooted all the time.
Though some fans want to see a second movie that's more realistic led by Vikander, a reboot is the best thing for the property. And as any movie would be etter if it added dinosaurs, a reboot could finally be a completely faithful remake of the original game, which saw Lara literally face off against a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Warcraft Is Better Than Tomb Raider (2018)
Warcraft was more fun to watch than TR." Perhaps the only reason why the Redditor is comparing the two is that they're both movies based on video games that were released a few years apeart. There isn't much of a difference in quality when it comes to the two movies, and, in fairness, Warcraft has a slightly higher score on IMDb.
However, Warcraft has an abysmal score on Rotten Tomatoes of 28%, and while it still isn't a ing score, Tomb Raider has a much higher score of 53%. Tomb Raider barely escaped development hell, and Warcraft was stuck there too, as Blizzard announced the movie 10 years before its release, but they both might have been better off if they stayed there.
Lara's Father Being Alive In The 2018 Movie Was Predictable
The origin story of Tomb Raider has always been that Lara's father, Richard Croft, was an adventurer and archeologist just like her, only he went missing in action, and players/audiences assumed correctly that he was killed. However, just like how the 2018 movie subverted expectations with the supernatural fake-out, it did the same thing with Lara's dad.
However, ViolentAmbassador argues that the twist was predictable, "The twist that her father was still alive was quite possibly the least surprising twist I've ever seen in a movie." It might not have been that surprising for viewers who had never played the games, but gamers were left stunned.
