TOMB RAIDER Reboot (49% Rotten Tomatoes Score)

If you have seen TOMB RAIDER (2018), how would you rate it?

  • Total voters
    25
TheRuthlessOne said:
I was surprised as well

I guess people got upset that it was just an action film and didn't really have any political bullshit in it

Same with Annihilation
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I feel like the days of box office draw actors are done too. Remember there was a time where someone like Will Smith or Jim Carrey or Tom Crusie was headlining a film and it was a guaranteed blockbuster. You don't see that anymore. It's all concept or franchise as the selling point now, I feel.
 
ufcfan4 said:
Certainly entertaining and well done. My one complaint (and it's not much of one) is that it felt redundant of every other heroic cave adventurer movie we've ever seen.
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I think this is a bigger complaint than you're letting on. As I said in my post above, perhaps the biggest problem with this film is just how generic it feels. I'm trying to figure out what sets it apart and gives it that special bit of magic that no other film seems to have and I'm coming up blank.

Like I said in my review, it feels like a script that a computer spit out, just checking the necessary boxes along the way.
 
shadow_priest_x said:
Well, I mean, it's pretty good. . .
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Definitely.

But it stands lonely there as one of the only pretty good video game adaptations. I thought the original Tomb Raider was sort of passably okay or decent, but not really worth recommending. I'd recommend Mortal Kombat. And I'd recommend this incarnation of Tomb Raider. Certainly a reasonably fun movie that hearkened back to Last Crusade in some ways and that had little wrong with it. It just felt like it never could get to that next level that would have made it outright awesome. It's one of those films where I think there's little to dislike about it, but it's a little too safe and familiar to hit the highs you might want it to hit.

But it was certainly good. Which means I think it's one of the best video game adaptations out there.
 
shadow_priest_x said:
I think this is a bigger complaint that you're letting on. As I said in my post above, perhaps the biggest problem with this film is just how generic it feels. I'm trying to figure out what sets it apart and gives it that special bit of magic that no other film seems to have and I'm coming up blank.

Like I said in my review, it feels like a script that a computer spit out, just checking the necessary boxes along the way.
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That's a great way to express it (and I have to go back now and read your review).

You know how there are some films where there are a lot of high points but there are also some real low points or films that have a lot of high points but few low points or films that outright are shitty...but Tomb Raider is one of those films where I felt there weren't a lot of low aspects to it, but there were not a great deal of high point/stand out things to it.
 
shadow_priest_x said:
Saw it tonight and thought it was okay.

I liked the opening introduction to Lara in the MMA gym and the "fox hunt." I thought all of that was done well. And I think that Vikander has charisma and brings to life an interesting version of Lara Croft, and it's obvious that despite everyone's concerns about her being "a 115 lb woman with no muscle" that she spent a lot of time getting in shape for the role.

The whole thing about the legend of Himiko was also interesting enough as the thing that propels the plot forward and there were some pretty decent action sequences throughout the film.

However, with all that said, I thought the whole thing felt a bit generic. It was almost like someone punched some parameters into an automated script writing program and this is what it spit out. I can just see someone checking the boxes for "Adventure," "Puzzles," "Ancient Relics" and "Action heroine" and then clicking GENERATE and this is what it came up with. It never really got me all that excited or invested in the characters or the plot, and I kind of felt like it was all rather joyless.

While watching the movie I couldn't help but compare it to the first film with Angelina Jolie. At the end of the day, I don't think either movie is great. But given the choice I would go with the Angelina film because her Lara Croft is the more likable of the two and overall I think that movie is just a more fun and enjoyable experience.

I don't want to sound like I'm too negative on this one. It's not that I outright disliked it; it's more that I just thought it was merely okay and was hoping for more. If they make a sequel I'll certainly go check it out.

Overall, I'd probably give this one a 6/10.

For anyone who's seen it:

Is it just me or is most of the movie just Lara trying to undo her own fuck up? She takes the papers which she was explicitly told to destroy to the Island, which ultimately leads to Goggins' character getting access to the tomb. Sure, she finds her father, but in the end she's unable to actually save him so the main thing she intended to do she actually fails at. On the plus side, the tomb is now destroyed so that threat is gone forever. But the thing is, it didn't look like Goggins and Co. would've ever found the tomb in the first place if she hadn't lead them there.
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hahah. You're absolutely right in your spoiler portion. But that's why the movie felt very Last Cruade-ish to me (but pales in comparison to it).

Should have mailed it to the Marx Brothers...
 
ufcfan4 said:
Definitely.

But it stands lonely there as one of the only pretty good video game adaptations. I thought the original Tomb Raider was sort of passably okay or decent, but not really worth recommending. I'd recommend Mortal Kombat. And I'd recommend this incarnation of Tomb Raider. Certainly a reasonably fun movie that hearkened back to Last Crusade in some ways and that had little wrong with it. It just felt like it never could get to that next level that would have made it outright awesome. It's one of those films where I think there's little to dislike about it, but it's a little too safe and familiar to hit the highs you might want it to hit.

But it was certainly good. Which means I think it's one of the best video game adaptations out there.
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I just rewatched Mortal Kombat a couple of months ago and I still think it holds up pretty well. Excellent production design, a great soundtrack, underrated fight choreography, and some charming performances from a good cast all add up to a good viewing experience. I like the movie and am happy to defend it against anyone who wants to talk some shit about it.

As for the original Tomb Raider, it's certainly no masterpiece but it has its moments and has a certain charm that I think this film lacks. When I first saw that movie I remember being pretty disappointed. But then I revisited it several years later and liked it a lot more for whatever reason. After a recent third viewing I think I'm going to come down in the middle and give it a 6.5. It could've been better but I like it overall. Angelina was really good; she just could've used a little better script.

ufcfan4 said:
That's a great way to express it (and I have to go back now and read your review).

You know how there are some films where there are a lot of high points but there are also some real low points or films that have a lot of high points but few low points or films that outright are shitty...but Tomb Raider is one of those films where I felt there weren't a lot of low aspects to it, but there were not a great deal of high point/stand out things to it.
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I'd probably agree with that, and the thing is, for me, that ends up just being a fairly mediocre viewing experience. I mean, if there is neither much in the way of high or low points, the result is mediocrity, or at least something average, right?

ufcfan4 said:
hahah. You're absolutely right in your spoiler portion. But that's why the movie felt very Last Cruade-ish to me (but pales in comparison to it).

Should have mailed it to the Marx Brothers...
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I admit I didn't even think of the journal in TLC while watching this movie. The thing that most jumped out to me as a TLC callback was the breakaway floor that you can crash through and fall to your death.
 
Vikander is great as Croft but the story is cookie cutter and bland and the pacing gets funkier as it moves along. It needed to slow down for certain parts, like her learning to survive and kicking things off on the island. The father/daughter relationship was ham-fisted and saccharine. The traps convoluted and needlessly intricate. Tomb was bland, ripped straight outta AvP. Since they were going for gritty realism Lara needed to be more beat to shit. Bruised, gimped movement, stuff like that would have helped a lot. That's the charm of Indiana Jones - he seems human and needs rest. He gets injured. If you're going for realism and grit, go all the way - don't half ass it.

They screwed up the backstory a bit, as it shows her having zero interest in archaeology until she goes looking for her father, which is the opposite of her character in the games.

Overall, I felt it digressed as it moved along my interested waned the longer it went.

All that said, Vikander is great and even brought some humor and fun to the role. In that regard she was a better Lara than the one portrayed in the rebooted games, as they seemed to forget Lara is a smartass and fun (and yeah, I get the gritty reboot thing, but still). I thought the fight scenes were handled pretty well. She was tough and could fight, but they didn't have her beating up 17 guys 2-3x her size. The captain of the ship and the villain were great too.

Overall I found it largely uninspired and lacking in fun as it went along with many flaws, but Vikander carried it as well as she could for how generic it was.

6/10.
 
deviake said:
Since they were going for gritty realism Lara needed to be more beat to shit. Bruised, gimped movement, stuff like that would have helped a lot. That's the charm of Indiana Jones - he seems human and needs rest. He gets injured. If you're going for realism and grit, go all the way - don't half ass it.
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I agree with nearly all of your review, but while watching the movie I was actually surprised just how beaten up she does get. She's no superhero; she takes damage and shows it.

Perhaps they could've gone farther with that, but I thought they did a pretty good job of showing that she's just a girl. A tough, athletic girl with some fight training, but still just a girl.
 
shadow_priest_x said:
I agree with nearly all of your review, but while watching the movie I was actually surprised just how beaten up she does get. She's no superhero; she takes damage and shows it.

Perhaps they could've gone farther with that, but I thought they did a pretty good job of showing that she's just a girl. A tough, athletic girl with some fight training, but still just a girl.
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I mean things like the tumble through the trees - after she pulls the twig stuck out of herself she was pretty much good to go, even after fighting that guy (who's gear she left behind). It would have added a lot to see her struggling to move, then after hobbling to a point where she could rest, show her collapsing in fatigue and pain, which anyone human would. The pacing through that whole section of the movie was too quick in my opinion. Raider of the Lost Ark does this well; after the U-Boat business and all that, Jones is resting, bandaged, and fucked up - it adds immensely to the movie and character.

I remember watching an interview with Vikander talking about having to re-shoot the section of her getting out of the water, because she looked too blue from the cold. Why re-shoot? I think details like that add depth. Anyway, that's my perspective. I have other little nitpicks which added up but they're fairly minor in comparison.
 
shadow_priest_x said:
RE series > that Silent Hill bullshit
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It's easy to see by the trailer when a movie is going to suck or be really mediocre. This was one of those movies.
 
ufcfan4 said:
Haha. Yes I know that one is considered good too. I have to check that one out.
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Oh yeah, definitely give that one a watch. The director is that French guy who did Brotherhood of the Wolf.

Plus it's got Sean Bean!

<Ned01>
 
Peteyandjia said:
Oh yeah, definitely give that one a watch. The director is that French guy who did Brotherhood of the Wolf.

Plus it's got Sean Bean!

<Ned01>
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You had me at Brotherhood of the Wolf. That shit was dope.

Eddard’s presence is just a bonus.
 
Didnt care for this movie at all. The story wasnt great, the acting was subpar. It felt like fast and the furious on an island. I cant handle that over the top fake shit. I was bored out of my mind. Tons of plot holes and bad directing.

4/10

i really had an overall shitty movie weekend. Saw lady bird and couldnt for the life of me understand why people praised that movie. It was just a bunch of short skits meshed together. It was weird.

Then came daddys home 2. I kinda expected this one not to be good but i liked the first so i gave it a shot
 
Strange King said:
Then came daddys home 2. I kinda expected this one not to be good but i liked the first so i gave it a shot
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I enjoyed this movie for what it is. Not a block buster or anything but a good movie for the family.
 
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