Lara Croft (Alicia Vikander) has been a little aimless in her life since her father disappeared several years ago. A new clue to his whereabouts pops up when she comes to claim the family inheritance. Her journey with the help of a Chinese boat captain (Dainel Wu) leads her to an uncharted island where her father Richard Croft found the location of the supposed resting place of Himiko, the mythical Queen of Yamatai who was said to command the power over life and death. Her quest for the truth behind her father’s disappearance leads her up against a powerful secret organization called Trinity.

This 2018 action adventure reboot of the TOMB RAIDER series is based on the rebooted video games storyline introduced several years ago and serves as an origin story for the character of Lara croft. Alicia Vikander plays Lara Croft in a more grounded and realistic way compared to Angelina Jolie’s smug take on the character in the two TOMB RAIDER movies made for Paramount Pictures. The action scenes are directed quite well and the plot is paint-by-the numbers, but I consider the plot to be on the same level as the other two movies. With the exception of Lara Croft and Richard Croft, the characters are paper thin except for the bare bones of what the story tells us about those characters. It is an entertaining introduction to a new movie franchise which will undoubtedly spawn a sequel given how the movie is likely to earn enough overseas to guarantee a second movie. This movie is a different take on the character which is welcome while laying the groundwork for the other elements of Lara Croft that long term fans of the character and video game series will be familiar with. I enjoyed this new TOMB RAIDER to say I would come back for a sequel and this movie is worth at least one watch in theaters or in the digital, 4K UHD, blu-ray, and DVD market. I just hope the story has more developed characters to help support Alicia Vikander’s turn on Lara Croft in future TOMB RAIDER movies.

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