The area outside the theatre is a literal construction zone. The sound of a rotary hammer drill disturbs an otherwise atmospheric preview of some film about not making a sound or the aliens will get you. It's a Saturday morning and I'm here to observe the filmic rebirth of Lara Croft.
Alicia Vikander plays a young Croft, who we meet amid a sparring match. She loses. She has no money. She rides a bicycle for an uber eats like company in central London, where for once, it isn't raining. These first twenty to thirty minutes do little to flesh out the young Croft, until she decides to sign some paperwork; but can't even handle this simple task without getting distracted by a puzzle.
No one can find her father, and people have stopped accepting money to even try. After connecting a few mysterious dots, Lara ends up in the tomb reserved for her father. There; she finds clues to his whereabouts; and ignores his request to burn all research about Himoko.
This is the only similarly between the Tomb Raider film and the first game in the reboot trilogy on which it is very, incredibly loosely based. Oh, that and it’s set in the same place, and she uses the ship called The Endurance to get there.
There's not a lot of plot here; and even less real storytelling. It’s a basic film, with some stunts, action; interspersed with moments of understated triumph, transformation and determination.
Ultimately, Tomb Raider sets itself for commercial success. It’s a safe, boring film; which doesn't push the boundaries of story telling as nearly as deeply as Rhianna Pratchett's original; dark, daring and truly evolutionary tale of a young Croft coming to terms with the horrors of man, surviving against all odds, and emerging tough, victorious and even more determined.
It is clear that there will be at least one sequel produced, but with the Croft canon changing so many times since the introduction of various settings and timelines; it’s hard to say whether this will work.
Worth a watch if you're a die-hard, otherwise go play the games. They're much, much better.