The ending of Tomb Raider, the new film based on the video games starring Alicia Vikander, has a shocking twist that some moviegoers may not see coming. And it’s through that ending nostalgic video gamers yearning for the old Lara Croft may be rewarded. At least, not until the possible sequel.
Spoilers for Tomb Raider ahead.
At the end of Tomb Raider, Lara Croft defeats Mathias (Walton Goggins) and leverages the paramilitary group, Trinity, to evacuate herself, her new pal Lu Ren (Daniel Wu), and the people Trinity enslaved off the island of Yamatai. With her father Richard Croft (with whom she reunited briefly) now dead for real, Lara goes back to London to declare dear old dad as deceased and accept her inheritance. In doing so, Lara also handed ownership of Croft Holdings to Ana Miller (Kristin Scott Thomas), a family friend and Richard’s business partner.
After signing, Lara stumbles upon an uncomfortable truth: Trinity was just one of many assets owned by Croft Holdings. As it turns out, Richard’s own people set him up to die on Yamatai, and the person who orchestrated the corporate coup was Ana Miller. This compels the now battle-tested Lara Croft to pick up a few things at a pawn shop. Suddenly, this gritty Tomb Raider and its survivalist heroine can now pivot to a more old school action movie in a future sequel.
Alicia Vikander (left) with Kristin Scott Thomas (right), who plays "Ana Miller" in 'Tomb Raider.'
Old school gamers who remember the classic Tomb Raider games on PlayStation will remember how over-the-top they were. Between level bosses that ranged from dinosaurs to gunslinging cowboys, to chasing mystical artifacts like the Philosopher’s Stone and the Spear of Destiny, the old Tomb Raider games were as bombastic as old school James Bond.
The newer games, mainly the 2013 reboot Tomb Raider which served as the biggest inspiration for the new movie, dialed down on the supernatural stuff in favor of a more grounded story of survival. Though there were undead samurai in the game, it was still nowhere near crazy as the old Tomb Raider games.
In a potential sequel for Tomb Raider, Lara Croft vs. An Evil Corporation is a very old school-type of action movie. That Lara Croft is arming herself with two guns to dual-wield — which isn’t impossible, but totally impractical — shows just how retro a future Tomb Raider movie might look like.
Tomb Raider is out now in theaters.
