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Tomb Raider (2018)

 
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Bud Brewster
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Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17020
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Fri Feb 19, 2021 1:30 pm    Post subject: Tomb Raider (2018) Reply with quote




I think I watched one of the Angelina Jolie versions of this franchise and was a bit underwhelmed by it. The movie didn't lack closeups of Anglelina's impressive lips, but it pretty much lacked everything else.

This one at least has a female main character who acts with her whole face, and that was refreshing. And it doesn't start with a colossal action scene that sort of makes the rest of them seem disappointing.

It starts with Lara getting the crap beat out of her in a friendly boxing match and then Lara in an illegal bicycle race through the London streets, ending with her getting hit by a police car and spilling green paint all over it.

If that makes you curious, watch the movie, because it's not a bad beginning and it gets better. Very Happy

For example, when Lara arrives in Hong Kong in search of clues as to her late father's secret endeavors, she's accosted by three Chinese boys who steal her backpack. Surprisingly, Lara does NOT kick their asses with ease as we might expect. She does retrieve her backpack, but not with ease and not without help.

I liked it. Very Happy

By the 30-minute mark I'd seen enough story to give me hope that the wild and woolly action scenes from the trailer I watched might be interwoven with a decent plot. Very Happy

One thing about the plot that bothered me, however, was the fact that at the beginning of the movie the rebellious young Lara Croft neglected to sign the legal papers that would allow her to receive the vast fortune her adventurous father left for her.

Then she goes off to Hong Kong to find out what Great Mystery he died trying to solve, even though she's only got a few thousand dollars she received from a hock shop by selling a beloved jade necklace her Dad gave her!

Damn. That made less sense than jumping out of an airplane with an umbrella for a parachute! Shocked

However, what the Angelina version had that this one lacked was outrageously unrealistic scenes which left me rolling my eyes like this — Rolling Eyes — and hoping the movie would end soon.

What this version had which I liked was plenty of realism that made me care about the characters and remain involved with the story. Very Happy

The special effects and action scenes were convincing and exciting, making it necessary to pause the DVD at inconvenient moments to visit my bathroom so I wouldn't miss choice moments! (Bladders are so damned inconvenient for true movie buffs . . . especially older ones.)

At the 45-minute mark I realized the Lara had allied herself with only one other character, a Chinese guy who agrees to join her noble mission. That seemed odd, because usually at that point in a movie the hero has acquired a team of likable folks, some of whom will die horribly during the movie for the sake of drama.

And yet the Chinese guy seems to die when his ship, chartered by Lara to find a mysterious island in the Pacific, actually does finds the island and then wrecks itself on the shore during a storm that presents some spectacular action scenes!

But at the 40-minute mark I decided to arm myself against disappointment by consulting with the Wikipedia article about this movie, and I learned that my high hopes were destined to be dashed, just like that ship did of the reef.

Here's what the critics said.
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"Tomb Raider reboots the franchise with a more grounded approach and a star who's clearly more than up to the task—neither of which are well served by an uninspired origin story."

Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 2 out of 4 stars and said, "The Lara Croft reboot Tomb Raider isn’t half bad for an hour. Then there’s another hour. That hour is quite bad. It’s no fun watching your action heroine get shoved, punched and kicked to the sidelines of her own movie, while the menfolk take over and take turns overacting before expiring."

Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a mixed review, criticizing the story but praising Vikander, and writing, "When all the one-dimensional supporting characters and familiar action moves fall by the wayside, the one thing left standing is Vikander...The film strains credulity even for a vid-game fantasy by letting the leading lady recover awfully quickly from bad injuries, but other than that Vikander commands attention and is the element here that makes Tomb Raider sort of watchable.

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So, there you have it, folks. A wordy post from Bud, and the professional comments of the film's critics. Sort of like that cute Donnie and Marie skit where she says she's a little bit country, and he says he's a little bit rock 'n roll! Cool

Just to ease your feelings of disappointment, enjoy this video by Donnie and Marie. (Gee, I really loved that show! Cool


_______________ Donny & Marie Osmond Pilot


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Or maybe you'd rather watch the trailer. It doesn't have singing, but it does look pretty good! And Lara shoots a bow! You know it had me right there, the author of The Hero Experience, right? Very Happy

______________ Tomb Raider Trailer #1 (2018)


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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