Tomb Raider Review: 4 Ups & 5 Downs
Ups...
4. Alicia Vikander Is A Totally Convincing Lara Croft
The one major thing the movie gets right is casting Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft. It's clear she put herself through an intense training regimen to convincingly resemble the video game heroine, and also to believably survive the ordeal she's put through on the island.
Vikander doesn't get great material to work with, but as a physical performance, it's probably the most faithful of any video game movie to date. There's still the overall feeling that the Oscar winner's talents are squandered on a project like this, but she helps elevate a thoroughly mediocre film that would be far tougher to watch with a lesser actress in the lead.
She does a fine job making Lara a bada** protagonist while still being vulnerable and far away from a superhero. She's not as charming as Angelina Jolie's portrayal, but that's kinda the point.