Tomb Raider, the name means a lot in video games where it’s one of the highest-selling franchises of all-time. But in the realm of movies? That’s a little bit different, because it was Angelina Jolie who was the driving force behind the first film’s success, and when her star began to wane the sequel didn’t do nearly as well. So what does that mean for the upcoming reboot led by Alicia Vikander? Does she have the star power to make it her own?
So far there hasn’t been a lot of buzz even though Tomb Raider is only a couple of months away. The latest trailer attempts to change that. The Oscar-winner takes on the role of Lara Croft, a bike messenger (!?!?) who learns that her deceased father was last seen on a mythical island in search of a mysterious tomb. It sounds completely ridiculous but the action looks solid. I think Vikander is going to have to win people over that she can be a physical actress, that may be the biggest hurdle.
Here is the synopsis: 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.
Directed by Roar Uthaug, Tomb Raider opens March 16th.
