I love the idea of Lara Croft, a strong, smart action hero, even if some played the games for other more prurient reasons. Being a terrible gamer, I didn’t get into the franchise; instead, my experience was through the two movies starring Angelina Jolie. Which bored the crap out of me. They seemed slavish to the games in all the wrong places, and as games have evolved, maybe, just maybe a new film more in line with where they are now will work better.
Lara Croft needs to be introduced to a wider audience, and going back to a younger, less assured Lara makes sense. Didn’t the games do that, too? Plus Alicia Vikander was terrifyingly good in Ex Machina, so… let’s see what happens.
From Warner Brothers:
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.
From Warner Bros. Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, “Tomb Raider” is the story that will set a young and resolute Lara Croft on a path toward becoming a global hero. The film stars Oscar winner Alicia Vikander (“Ex Machina,” “The Danish Girl”) in the lead role, under the direction of Roar Uthaug (“The Wave”), with Oscar-winner Graham King (“The Departed”) producing under his GK Films banner. The film’s production begins on the heels of the 20th anniversary of the wildly popular videogame franchise from Square Enix, Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montreal.
“Tomb Raider” also stars Dominic West (“Money Monster,” “300”), Walton Goggins (“The Hateful Eight,” “Django Unchained”) and Daniel Wu (AMC’s “Into the Badlands”).
Shooting on location in South Africa and the UK, Uthaug directs from a script by Geneva Robertson-Dworet. The director’s behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography George Richmond (“Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation”); production designer Gary Freeman (“Maleficent”); Oscar-nominated editor Stuart Baird (“Skyfall,” “Gorillas in the Mist”); and costume designer Tim Wonsik (key costumer, “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”).
“Tomb Raider” will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by MGM.
