English Assignment

TOMB RAIDER MOVIE REVIEW

ABOUT THE MOVIE

Tomb Raider is a 2018 American action-adventure film which is directed by Roar Uthaug and
written by Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Alastair Siddons, from a story by Evan Daugherty and
Robertson-Dworet. It is based on the 2013 video game of the same name, with some elements of
its sequel by Crystal Dynamics, and is a reboot of the Tomb Raider film series.

The film stars Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft, in which she embarks on a perilous journey to her
father's last-known destination, hoping to solve the mystery of his disappearance. Dominic West,
Walton Goggins, Daniel Wu, and Kristin Scott Thomas appear in supporting roles.

CHARACTERS IN THE MOVIE

Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft

Emily Carey as 14-year old Lara
Dominic West as Lord Richard Croft, (Lara's deceased archaeologist father)
Walton Goggins as Mathias Vogel, (a rival archaeologist of Richard Croft and a member
of Trinity, a shadowy organization)
Daniel Wu as Lu Ren, (the ship captain who helps Lara in searching for her father)
Kristin Scott Thomas as Ana Miller, (an associate at Richard Croft's company, Croft
Holdings)
Hannah John-Kamen as Sophie, (Croft's flatmate and best friend)
Antonio Aakeel as Nitin, (a friend to Lara)
Derek Jacobi as Mr. Yaffe
Nick Frost as Max
STORY IN SHORT

Movie is about a powerful girl named Lara Croft, She is the fiercely independent daughter of an
eccentric adventurer who vanished years earlier. While Hoping to solve the mystery of her
father's disappearance, Lara Croft embarks on a perilous journey to his last-known destination –
which was a fabled tomb on a mythical island that might be somewhere off the coast of Japan.
The stakes couldn't be higher as Lara must rely on her sharp mind, blind faith and stubborn spirit
to venture into the unknown.

So, in short one can say that Lara Croft seeks to find the truth about her father’s disappearance,
which takes her on an adventure that pushes her to her limits.

SUMMARY OF THE MOVIE

As I have earlier mentioned about the disappearance of her father, further following the
disappearance of her father Richard, Lara Croft lives a reckless and carefree life. When she is
arrested after an accident involving a police car, Richard's business partner Ana Miller posts her
bail and warns her that if she does not claim her inheritance, her father's estate will be sold off.
Lara reluctantly accepts and comes into possession of the key to her father's office.

While she was in her father’s work place suddenly there she finds a pre-recorded message from
Richard detailing his research into Himiko, the mythical Queen of Yamatai who was said to
command the power over life and death. And while in that pre-recorded message Richard warns
Lara to destroy all of his research but Lara decides to investigate further.

Lara travels to Hong Kong where she bribes Lu Ren, captain of the ship Endurance, to sail to an
island which believed to have once been Yamatai. During the journey the ship capsizes in a
violent storm and Lara is washed ashore where she is knocked unconscious. She is revived by
Mathias Vogel, the leader of an expedition to locate Himiko's tomb that has been funded by the
shadowy Trinity organisation which to an attempt to harness and weaponise Himiko's power.

Vogel takes Lara as a prisoner, while revealing that he killed her father and intends to use
Richard's research to continue his expedition. Lara escapes with the help of Lu Ren, who
survived the storm and has been put to work with the local fishermen digging for Himiko's tomb.
She evades capture but is seriously wounded in the process and passes out from her injuries.

Lara regains consciousness after nightfall and is forced to kill a Trinity guard when she is nearly
discovered. She follows a mysterious figure while wandering the island and discovers that the
figure is her father, who has himself been held captive on Yamatai. After convincing him that
she is real, Richard treats her injuries and despite his protests, Lara sets off to recover his
research from Vogel's camp and take the fight to Trinity.

Lara makes contact with Lu Ren and he, along with the fishermen, stage distractions, which
allows Lara to infiltrate the Trinity camp and recover her father's research. While in the ensuing
chaos, Richard makes his way to the tomb and is captured by Vogel, who persuades Lara to open
Himiko's tomb.

The party which navigate a series of booby traps before locating Himiko's sarcophagus. Trinity
soldiers attempt to remove her corpse but become infected by Himiko's "power over death", a
virus, and devolve into mindless beings. Vogel kills them and concludes that he cannot remove
Himiko's body and instead settles for removing her thumb, which he seals in a pouch. In the
confusion, Lara and Richard overpower the remaining soldiers.

Vogel escapes while Richard is infected. Knowing there is no cure, he proposes destroying
Himiko's tomb to prevent the virus spread across the world. Lara gives chase to Vogel,
confronting him as Richard sets off a bomb, killing himself and sealing the tomb.

Lara force-feeds Himiko's thumb to Vogel and traps him in a pit as the infection takes over. She
is rescued by Lu Ren and the fishermen, who hijacks a Trinity helicopter to escape Yamatai.

At the end of the movie Lara returns to London, where she formally accepts her inheritance.
Using it to investigate Trinity further, she discovers that Trinity's front company is owned by
Croft Holdings, and begins to suspect that Ana Miller is one of their agents who manipulated her
into accepting her inheritance, signing over control of Croft Holdings' business operations to her,
and inadvertently delivering Richard's research to Vogel after Richard stopped co-operating.
Seeking to continue her investigation and having witnessed Trinity's ruthlessness first-hand, she
prepares for her next adventure to stop Trinity.
MY VIEW ON THE MOVIE

In the early 2000’s, Angelina Jolie played Lara Croft in a couple of films which was based on the
video-game character who fuelled the fantasies of gaming nerds everywhere. While celebrating
success of the game’s reboot in 2013, the time seemed appropriate to the movie makers which
pointed out focus on Lara Croft’s abilities as a female adventurer, rather than her status as a sex
symbol. To say that Alicia Vikander had big boots to fill would be an understatement.

Then again, Vikander is more than capable as an actress, with an Oscar for Best Supporting
Actress in her belt. She takes on the physically demanding role in this live-action revision of the
franchise with ease, while erasing any trace of her on-screen predecessor.

This version of Lara Croft is emotionally vulnerable which is devoid of superhuman abilities.
She needs to use her intellect and courage to overcome the challenges ahead of her. Vikander
while keeps us invested enough through Lara Croft’s transformation from a naive, hesitant girl to
a confident woman who isn’t afraid of taking risks. But while establishing her roots, the film
resorts to some of the clichéd tropes of an origin tale.

As a result, the plot which is often predictable is also logically convenient to push the story
forward. There’s also the problem of the generic villain Vogel, played by Walton Goggins, who
doesn’t feel sufficiently threatening to be taken seriously.

While on the other hand, Dominic West as Lord Richard Croft brings in enough emotional
resonance as Lara’s father to make her motivations well-justified as their scenes together are
essential to the plot. Although the clunky screenplay results in uneven pacing issues which make
for a sloppy watch, the action which is also compelling enough to see you through.

If only it didn’t rely so heavily on snappy editing, it would be even more thrilling. While these
choices by director Roar Uthaug hold the movie back from being an intense experience.
Although ‘Tomb Raider’ does enough to reignite the franchise onscreen by giving its protagonist
a timely and relevant overhaul to confidently launch Alicia Vikander as this generation’s Lara
Croft.
SUGGESTION

This TOM RAIDER movie which tells the story of a girl named Lara Croft is much liked by the
audience. It is an interesting movie I would like to suggest while going for the outing one should
watch this movie. You will really enjoy it while watching it.

Thank You!

Rabia Sagir