Almost two decades after it hit theaters, the original Tomb Raider film starring Angelina Jolie in many ways remains the pinnacle of cinematic video game adaptations. That being said, we all know Hollywood loves its reboots, and therefore will soon bring a new Lara Croft to the silver screen. As beloved as the character has become over the years, it’s important for filmmakers to try new things and branch off into new directions. Tomb Raider director Roar Uthaug has a vision for Lara, and it involves making her more human and relatable than ever before.
Roar Uthaug, director of the upcoming Tomb Raider reboot, recently sat down with IGN to explain the direction the new film will take the legendary video game character:
I think making Lara Croft feel like a real human being, that’s definitely something we want to bring to the big screen as well. I think we’ll want to make people relate to Lara as a character. I’m hoping to bring some of my Norwegian sensibilities to the franchise.
The upcoming Tomb Raider movie takes ample thematic inspiration from the recent video game reboot of the series that hit shelves in 2013. Much like that game, this upcoming film will try to portray Lara Croft as a genuine human and show how a young woman such as herself becomes the grizzled, motivated veteran we know and love. Beyond just telling an origin story, the video game reboot also dulled Lara’s more outlandish traits and made her into a character that audiences could truly relate to – an effort the movie will ultimately emulate.
By contrast, the original Angelina Jolie version of the character was very much a product of the 1990s. The original Tomb Raider, and to a greater extent Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, portrayed the character as essentially a living video game character – nearly omnipotent, and effortlessly badass in the face of overwhelming odds. This worked in an era defined by films like The Matrix and the Pierce Brosnan James Bond movies, but audiences have become much more accustomed to dark, gritty, and human protagonists in recent years.
Just look at this scene from the original Tomb Raider. As much as it induces nauseating levels of nostalgia, its campiness feels undoubtedly dated by today’s standards:
How do you feel about the way the new film will treat Laura Croft? Should she be humanized by the filmmakers, or returned to her former badass self? We will bring you all of the latest and greatest Tomb Raider information as it becomes available.
