by King Hazard
Video game to movie adaptations don’t exactly have a stellar track record. With the mid-noughties blighted by Uwe Boll’s B-movie takes on BloodRayne (2005), House of the Dead (2003) and Alone in the Dark(2005), this decade hasn’t exactly seen the release of many successful crossovers, either: 2016’s Assassin’s Creed and Warcraft both ultimately received middling reviews despite having the big-money backing of 20th Century Fox and Universal Pictures respectively. The run of poor video game-based films looks like it may finally be coming to an end however, with the release of Norwegian director Roar Uthaug’s Tomb Raider reboot scheduled for next year. The iconic gaming heroine last appeared on the big screen as portrayed by Angelina Jolie in 2003’s critically panned Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, but a lot has changed for the franchise in the intervening 15 years.
In addition to numerous main series video game entries, the Core Design-created character has graced numerous spinoffs, including a 2007 animated TV series, Revisioned: Tomb Raider Animated Series, and multiple comic books and novels. Croft has even been the subject of iGaming properties. In this Tomb Raider slot review you can see that the character has lent her likeness to a five-reel casino title that features iconography and sounds associated with the video game series, as well as symbols and bonus features – such as the Idol Bonus – being based around the franchise’s explorative themes. Unlike traditional three-reel slot machines, five-reel titles such as Tomb Raider offer multiple paylines and multiple ways to win to players; here you will find the best list of casinos to play 3 or 5 reel slots.
More recently, publisher Square Enix afforded Lara Croft a full reboot in the form of 2013’s Tomb Raider, released for current and last-gen consoles. The title won praise for doing away with the over-the-top adventures of the voluptuous, one-dimensional Croft of the late-1990s in favor of a more grounded, down-to-earth narrative that depicted the explorer as a strong yet human, multi-faceted young woman. Thankfully, if a recent interview Uthaug gave to GQ magazine is any indication, Rhianna Pratchett’s characterization of Croft as seen in the 2013 title and its 2015 sequel is likely to serve as a major inspiration for the latest big screen adaptation of the popular series. “Our movie takes a more realistic, grounded approach,” the director insisted when discussing how the film stacks up next to other cinematic adaptations, adding that while Croft is undoubtedly a strong protagonist, “she is not a superhero”.
Much like the 2013 video game reboot, the 2018 movie will serve as the origins story of Alicia Vikander’s Lara Croft, introducing players to the character at a time when the young woman – despite having “spirit and potential” – is still questioning her purpose in life and beginning to hone her survival skills as well as shape her personality. “Our goal is to show the complete journey that Lara Croft takes, and that means acknowledging both the emotional and the physical aspects of her evolution,” Uthaug said. In Swede Vikander, distributor Warner Bros. have a refined actor who is both experienced but yet to be typecast; and, providing Geneva Robertson-Dworet’s script is up to scratch, could well come to positively redefine who audiences know the character of Lara Croft to be.
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