I admit that I lost touch with the movies that Angelina Jolie was starring in. She had entirely too much power and the situations she was able to get in and out of just increased in their impossible ridiculous nature to the point where it was as if she had super powers. This re-boot is a "how Lara Croft became Tomb Raider" story of sorts
This episode follows the storyline of the 2013 game by the same name - which was an excellent game by the way and you should check that out as well. Especially since it is less than $3 on Steam at the moment. Anyway, this is about the movie, not the game.
The main reason why I like this movie is because Lara is not yet a complete bad ass that can just kick the crap out of 20 people at the same time like Angelina's Lara could and in my mind anyway, that makes it more realistic. She is an accomplished archer and rock climber, but the reasons why this is the case is explained throughout the film. She an expert at these tasks just because: reasons.
Lara apparently wanted nothing to do with the family fortune and perferred to make her own way through life as a bike courier. After a run in with the law she is bailed out by her dad's company and Lara is brought to sort our her inheritance. She receives a coded message as part of the will from her late father and is able to solve a riddle that leads her to discover his hidden office where has been studying the supernatural for many years unbeknownst to his family.
She ignores her father's dying wish which was to destroy his research and instead decides to follow up on his unfinished case instead (it would be a really short and boring movie otherwise - as no tombs would have been raided at all!) She heads to Hong Kong to find a boat captain that her father had already procured to take her to an uncharted island off the coast of Japan.
This is where the tomb raiding begins obviously, and there are certain sequences (such as the crashed plane in the river one) that those of us that played the game will already be quite familiar with.
Many professional critics panned the film for being too long, which I agree with, at least 30 minutes of the film is unnecessary. However, other critics disliked the fact that Lara was overpowered by human male baddies at several times in the movie, which may be some sort of feminist something or other. I liked that aspect of the movie because it is more realistic. Are we really to believe that someone the size of Angelina Jolie can overpower someone the size of Brock Lesnar? Sure Lara can outsmart someone that much bigger than her, which she eventually does. This aspect of realism, while it was a negative to some critics, is actually a big plus for me.
For what it is - an action film with a predictable ending - I found it very entertaining. I might be giving it at least a point because I've enjoyed the games over the years. So be it.
