So, Does Tomb Raider Break The Video Game Movie Curse?
It all sounds very promising...
The new Tomb Raider movie has been generating conversation recently for entirely the wrong reasons - mostly because someone doesn't have the imagination to see beyond comedy pointy breasts - but it seems we're all about to talk about it for much more pleasing reasons. Because some critics who have seen it are calling it genuinely great.
Obviously, whenever a new video game adaptation movie comes out, the looming spectre of the apparent video game movie curse hangs over it all ominously - no matter what the budget or who is involved. Even more inevitably, the second there's a whiff of said film being good we get the narrative of it breaking the curse, which is all quite silly when you think about it, but which you should take with both hands if it means Tomb Raider is actually as good as the best reviews claim.
Looking at the first reactions online, there's lots to be positive about. Gamespot call it a great video game adaptation:
What really elevates it, though, are a couple of extremely specific story and design decisions that set it apart from all its contemporaries, from Indiana Jones and Uncharted to past Tomb Raider games and movies.
And Associated Press praises its authenticity in recapturing the experience of playing the games:
The movie itself is another, more complicated, story, but this video game adaption is better than most with set pieces that are both fun and ridiculous (like a high-stakes escape room) that actually seem to approximate the experience of playing a video game.
Others have been quick with praise too...
Obviously, it's not all entirely positive: The Wrap faults the approach, despite the interesting character:
Such a uniquely interesting character deserves more than a run-of-the-mill action franchise, but Tomb Raider is exactly that, a formulaic adventure so predictable and pre-ordained that it could have been written on one of the many maps the characters use.
You can't please all of the people all of the time.