She's Crofty! (and she's just my type)

Let's put aside the obscure puns based on Beastie Boys song lyrics and take a jump into the world of Lara Croft, the Tomb Raider.

Since the release of her first game in 1997, she has evolved from a polygonal male idealistic portrait of a woman. In 2013, the character underwent a full overhaul to become a more fully fleshed out character of true depth who relies less on her sex appeal and more on her skills, knowledge, and physical prowess, while still retaining her natural beauty. This stronger feminine character was updated with more modern sensibilities and changed from a gaming mascot into a truly cultural icon.

The Evolution of Lara Croft

Being that 2 previous movies based on the original rendering of the character were financial successes, it was obvious that with the praise the team at Square Enix were getting over her reinvention, we would see a movie soon after the 2013 game hit stores.

So this week, The Next Level Nerd Movie Podcast has joined forces with The Nerd Herd Gaming Podcast to discuss the critically maligned 2018 film, "Tomb Raider", based on the updated Lara Croft.

That's right! We're raiding the tomb of a film the critics buried to see if the resurrection of a cinematic Lara Croft adventure is worth the price of admission. Game on, nerds.

For the full audio review, click the video link at the bottom of this post, or search your podcast app for "Next Level Nerd Movie Podcast" and if you'd like access to exclusive NLN shows, early releases, and other goodies, just go to patreon.com/nextlevelnerd and drop us $1 or more.

Released: March 16th 2018

Production Companies:

• GK Films

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

• Square Enix

• Warner Bros.

MPAA: PG-13

Runtime: 1:59

Critical Response:

• Rotten Tomatoes: Critics: 51% Audience: 56%

• Meta Critic: 48/100

• Cinema Score: B

Financials:

• Budget: $94 Million

• Box Office: $275 Million

Tagline:

"Her legend begins."

Written by:

• Geneva Robertson-Dworet

• Alastair Siddons

• Evan Daugherty

• Based on characters by Susan O’Connor & Rhianna Pratchett

Directed by:

Roar Uthaug

The Cast:

Alicia Vikander

Dominic West

Walton Goggins

Daniel Wu

Kristin Scott Thomas

Hannah John-Kamen

Nick Frost

Mitchell’s Critical Corner:

Even though the movie was very profitable and is more highly rated than the proceeding Angelina Jolie films, the critics still shit on it.

• “After years of attempts, no one expects a video game movie to be high cinema. But if Tomb Raider wasn't going to be great, I had at least held out hope that it would be entertaining.” – Susana Polo, Polygon

• “Roar Uthaug's movie is a constant drag, always leaning into the seriousness of the story but rarely finding the joy in the journey.” – Matt Goldberg, Collider

• “A film so rife with plot holes that it would make a decent pasta strainer.” – Johnny Olenksinski, New York Post

• “Tomb Raider fails to develop interesting characters or motives but at least offers viewers some fun action.” – Miranda Sanchez, IGN Movies

• “Alicia Vikander is a good Lara Croft in a lacking Tomb Raider reboot.” – Julian Roman, MovieWeb

• “If the future chapters are to be this silly and disposable, one hopes Vikander moves on as quickly from this film as I did as a viewer.” – Richard Roeper

Check out this feature from Gamespot on what it was like reinventing the iconic character for modern gaming audiences.

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