Tomb Raider Parent Guide
I have yet to view a movie based on a videogame that has offers a compelling story – and this retelling continues the record.
Parent Movie Review
A generation or two has grown up since the introduction of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider in 1996. Now the franchise has been rebooted – both as a movie and as a videogame. It doesn’t need to be said that violence will be parents’ biggest issue here, with plentiful fast-paced sequences, some shootings (including the bad guy flippantly killing an ill worker because he fell down on the job), explosions and other risk taking activities.
The movie plays its best card in the opening scenes. Lara Croft (Alicia Vikander) is a young adult who earns a few quid working as a bicycle courier in the streets of London. She also loses that same money trying to win rounds of kickboxing at a local gym. Willing to prove her “stuff” anytime, anywhere she agrees to be the “fox” in a bicycle chase that threads through twisty streets and outdoor restaurants. Her attempt to evade dozens who are racing to catch the furry tail attached to the back of her bike makes for an exciting beginning – even if her reckless pursuit puts people at risk, destroys a few lunches and lands her atop a police car.
The crash with reality brings her face to face with her true “problem”. Years earlier her father, Richard Croft (Dominic West), went missing and is presumed dead. But this is something Lara refuses to accept, even though there’s a huge inheritance waiting for her if she’ll sign the release papers. Instead, our heroine is far more interested in discovering her dad’s adventurous past than investing money. Right about this moment of desperation, Lara comes across a clue, that opens a lock, that opens a clue, that opens… well… you get the idea.
I have yet to view a movie based on a videogame that has offers a compelling story – and this retelling continues the record. If it wasn’t for the energetic Vikander, who does the best of what she has to work with (she has the makings of a future action hero), this would be a dismal project. When the action moves to a remote island with a ridiculously evil bad guy (Walton Goggins) seeking the same ancient tomb Richard was searching for, both the story and visual effects get mired in unnecessary punching-shooting-pushing sequences that make you want to grab the game controller and take over.
Perhaps the best news I can offer is this film’s relative lack of profanity (although one muffled sexual expletive is included) and sexual content. If your teens are (or were) into the renewed game, they may have a better chance of engaging with this Tomb Raider movie than someone (like myself) who vaguely remembers the first pixilated version from two decades earlier, or the following Angelina Jolie movies: Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life (2003).
Directed by Roar Uthaug. Starring Alicia Vikander, Hannah John-Kamen, Walton Goggins. Running time: 118 minutes. Theatrical release March 16, 2018. Updated June 12, 2018About author
Tomb Raider
Rating & Content Info
Why is Tomb Raider rated PG-13? Tomb Raider is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for sequences of violence and action, and for some language.
Violence: This movie includes action sequences with weapons and hand-to-hand violence throughout. Characters are in frequent peril and scenes may be frightening to children. A man flippantly shoots another man who is working for him and has fallen ill. Characters are infected by a disease and a character shoots them to protect himself and others. Characters are shipwrecked. A woman is hit over the head and captured. A Caucasian man acts in a militant and brutal fashion toward people who are working for him, most of whom are of different ethnicities. A finger is removed from a corpse, it is infected with a disease and is later used as a weapon by another character. A drunken man fires a gun into the air to ward off people fighting on a boat. A woman douses a drunken man with water in an attempt to get information from him. Men steal a bag from a woman, a chase ensues throughout a crowded area – people are pushed and things are broken. A character is kicked into a deep chasm. A character takes their own life by detonating a bomb. Two women kick box, one has the other in a headlock – the person is gasping for air prior to “tapping out”. A woman recklessly rides a bicycle through busy city streets, causing some property damage and putting herself and others at risk. A woman falls and after landing on the ground discovers she has an object (perhaps wood) embedded in her abdomen, she pulls it out and later we see the injury treated. Characters lie and deceive.
Sexual Content: A female character is seen in slightly revealing clothing. Infrequent sexual remarks are heard.
Profanity: A single sexual expletive is partially heard and obscured by other sounds. Infrequent scatological terms and other mild profanities are included.
Alcohol / Drug Use: A drunken character shoots a gun. Some other alcohol use is depicted.
Page last updated June 12, 2018
Tomb Raider Parents' Guide
Videogames are often based on overcoming one challenge after another. Do you think this scenario adapts well to movies? What are some of your favorite films based on videogames? What videogames can you think of that are based on movies or stories? What are some of the core differences between the way we view and "consume" videogames and movies?
News About "Tomb Raider"
Tomb Raider is based on a video game: Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. It was created in 1996, making it about the same age as the protagonist in the 2018 movie adaptation. Lara Croft's character has had several different backstories over the course of her career, but she remains a strong willed, smart and athletic 21-year-old woman. (Ah, the magic of digital plastic surgery.)
Lara Croft has been marketed in various other forms, including merchandise, comic books, TV show and movies. Angelina Jolie played the part in the theatrical franchise Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life (2003).
From the Studio:
Lara Croft is the fiercely independent daughter of an eccentric adventurer who vanished when she was scarcely a teen. Now a young woman of 21 without any real focus or purpose, Lara navigates the chaotic streets of trendy East London as a bike courier, barely making the rent, and takes college courses, rarely making it to class. Determined to forge her own path, she refuses to take the reins of her father's global empire just as staunchly as she rejects the idea that he's truly gone. Advised to face the facts and move forward after seven years without him, even Lara can't understand what drives her to finally solve the puzzle of his mysterious death. Going explicitly against his final wishes, she leaves everything she knows behind in search of her dad's last-known destination: a fabled tomb on a mythical island that might be somewhere off the coast of Japan. But her mission will not be an easy one...
Written by Warner Bros. Pictures
Home Video
The most recent home video release of Tomb Raider movie is June 12, 2018. Here are some details…
Home Video Notes: Tomb Raider
Release Date: 12 June 2018
Tomb Raider releases to home video (Blu-ray/DVD/Digital or Blu-ray 3D) with the following extras:
- Tomb Raider: Uncovered - The cast and crew reveal the challenges - and the fun – of bringing Lara Croft’s thrilling adventures of life for a new generation.
- Croft Training - Enter the gym with Award winning actress Alicia Vikander as she prepares for the most physically demanding role of her career and transforms into the iconic action hero Lara Croft.
- Breaking Down the Rapids - Join Director Roar Uthaug as he and other members of the cast and crew break down the film’s most exciting action set piece.
- Lara Croft: Evolution of an Icon - Explore the revolutionary TOMB RAIDER saga from video games to movies, and discover how Lara Croft became one of the most popular and successful female characters of all time.