'Tomb Raider' Trailer Is Super Accurate to Reboot Video Games
You might bring a controller to the theater.
by Eric FranciscoIn case you haven’t played video games since the days of the original PlayStation, there was an awesome reboot of Tomb Raider that hit consoles in 2013. In March, Alicia Vikander will star as Lara Croft in the film adaptation, also simply titled Tomb Raider, and the new trailer shows just how deep the game’s influence runs.
On Thursday, Warner Bros. released the second trailer for Tomb Raider that reveals more of the story, which sees Croft pursue a mystery left unsolved by her father (Dominic West, The Wire). Croft, along with her pal played by Daniel Wu (Into the Badlands), journeys into the heart of the Devil’s Sea, a dangerous region of ocean in Asia with a similar reputation to the Bermuda Triangle. At the same time, Croft will have to fight an organization called Trinity, which hopes to use Croft’s treasure for awful bad guy reasons.
It was clear from early stills and the first trailer that the film, directed by Roar Uthag, will take inspiration from the reboot games. But this new trailer really drives the point home. Like the games, Croft will solve puzzles, navigate high-speed waterfalls (which led to really brutal deaths if gamers failed to succeed), and use makeshift weapons like bows and mountain pickaxes to defend herself against Trinity, which also comes from the reboot games.
Think this is harsh? Imagine playing it.
In short, Tomb Raider may be one of the most faithful game-to-film adaptations in a long time. But will it be the first to be… good? Movie adaptations of games have a reputation for failing to excite the same way the games do. In the ‘90s, films like Street Fighter, Super Mario Bros., and Mortal Kombat all became cult hits but, weren’t acclaimed gems nor box office successes. More recent movies like Warcraft and Assassin’s Creed also left critics and audiences cold, though Warcraft was a hit in China where World of Warcraft is almost a way of life.
But anyone who played the 2013 Tomb Raider could easily imagine its plot working as a fun and gritty adventure movie. Unlike the old games that Angelina Jolie became the face of, the new Lara Croft is a more grounded character, acting more like a survivor than a badass with thigh holsters. The last trailer teased Vikander getting her guns, but hopefully the movie will show Croft actually earn her skills than start with them.
Tomb Raider will be released in theaters on March 16.
