7 Key Mistakes Upcoming Movie Reboots Must Avoid

Lara Croft got a new lease on life in 2013 with the well-received reboot of Tomb Raider. Many positive reviews focused on the humanising of Lara, the fact that the game made her journey a struggle as opposed to the flat-out run and gun of the originals.

The creators of the upcoming Tomb Raider movie would do well to pay attention to this rather than to the previous outings featuring Angelina Jolie as an unstoppable force of nature in a tank top. While it’s undeniably fun to watch her defy gravity and make short work of rooms full of henchmen with nothing but a wry smile and her signature pistols, there’s a much more interesting angle to be taken.

Focusing on a younger Lara as she develops her skills and actually raids a few tombs would be a welcome change of pace. It would also be a solid grounding for a number of sequels centred around a more relatable hero who actually overcomes challenges as opposed to merely shooting them.

A Lara Croft with emotional depth would provide a great role for an up and comer to get their teeth into and could potentially prove that it is, in fact, possible to make a good video game movie.

While it’s easy to say that Tomb Raider was never meant to be taken too seriously, there’s a fine line between poking fun and complete self-parody. Let’s avoid looking for inspiration in the games whose main selling points were protruding triangular polygons and instead take note of the more nuanced approach of more recent releases.