The Film 3/5

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; just reaching the island will be extremely treacherous. Suddenly, the stakes couldn’t be higher for Lara, who—against the odds and armed with only her sharp mind, blind faith and inherently stubborn spirit—must learn to push herself beyond her limits as she journeys into the unknown. If she survives this perilous adventure, it could be the making of her, earning her the name tomb raider.

Alicia Vikander is bright spot in this newest version of Lara Croft with the first act of the film leading me to believe this would be the video game movie to end all video game movies. Not quite. Not to say the first third was by any means perfect, but much better than most game adaptations. Lara goes through a few downs, winding up in Hong Kong to meet the hottest ship captain ever recorded on film (Daniel Wu), but that's where the thrill of a great movie ends. They get to their destination on a far off island only to become so cliche that it rips off whole scenes from the new versions of the video game. Although it looks good for the most part and the protagonists are well acted, the villains are lacking. Walton Goggin's bad guy is so stereotypically one dimensional that if he had a mustache, he would have surely twirled it. The bulk of the second and third acts are predictably filled with video game tropes, but still a couple "oh shit" moments. Dominic West plays Richard Croft in flashbacks competently and Kristin Scott Thomas is completely underused as Ann Miller. We are lead to believe a sequel could be on the horizon, but the film fell short of the $275 million needed to break even.

Audio/Video (4/5)

The video for the most part is clear and sharp 2:4:1 1080p. My only gripe comes from scenes obviously meant for the IMAX and 3D cinema showings appear to be a different definition on my television and took me out of the film where it would be best interest to keep me in.

The Dolby Atmos TrueHD sound quality was great with no complaints. Quiet and action scenes alike did not force me to change the volume on my TV.

Extras (2.5/3)

The Blu-Ray only contains four featurettes containing cast interviews, look behind the action scenes, and an introspective of Lara Croft. No out takes or deleted scenes, which are usually my favorite in-home additions. Although Warner Brothers has attached itself to Movies Anywhere, the digital code for Tomb Raider sends you to another site just to have access to the digital copy. I had to add it to my Movies Anywhere account by linking the two accounts, but that also ended badly with the app crashing, I decided to wait another day to try.

Overall

I would have liked to have seen this film in the theater as I enjoyed Vikander's portrayal as a young Lara who hadn't yet turned into the badass we know.  The visuals and subject had the makings of a great action adventure flick, but ultimately falls flat. If you enjoyed this in the theater and paid to see it several times, by all means buy this copy. Otherwise don't waste your time. RENT IT.