Video games are a funny thing. While gaming is a giant business that contains its own set of unique and interesting stories, adapting them for the big screen isn't the easiest task. Plenty of movies based off of games struggle and end up being critically panned, like Super Mario Bros. or most recently Assassin's Creed. The latest video game that will soon get a big screen adaptation is Tomb Raider, starring Academy Award Winner Alicia Vikander. The first trailer for the highly anticipated blockbuster just hit the web, and it looks a whole lot like the trailer for the 2013 video game of the same name. A new video just surfaced that does a side by side comparison, and it's pretty uncanny. Check it out.
I think its safe to say that both Tomb Raider's director and the team putting together the trailers are big fans of the last two Tomb Raider video games. And if IGN's above video is any indication, then we should be seeing the narrative of the second to last game played out almost identically on the silver screen when Tomb Raider arrives in theaters.
The 2013 Tomb Raider game served as a reboot for the beloved franchise, while also illuminating Lara Croft's origin story for the first time. In it, Lara ends up on her very first expedition in order to uncover and protect her late father's research. But when her ship capsizes, Lara is left isolated on an island east of Japan. She must scavenge and survive her harsh environment, while also battling the evil forces of Trinity and uncovering the mysteries around her environment.
It looks like the new Tomb Raider will closely follow that plot, and the recently revealed footage looks like it could be straight out of the games. Alicia Vikander is the spitting image of Lara Croft from the new games, wearing the exact same outfit as her video game counterpart. Additionally, it looks like the action will be quite different from Angelina Jolie's films, and will be more focused on Lara's skill with a bow and arrow and her exploration, rather than a bevy of shootouts with double pistols.
Overall, the new Tomb Raider movie looks like a very close adaptation of its video game source material, hopefully resulting in an epic action-adventure film that can stand on its own two feet. Let's just hope that it manages to avoid the curse of video game movies.
Tomb Raider will arrive in theaters on March 16, 2018, so there's still a while to go. In the meantime, check out our 2017 release list to plan your final trips to the movies before the New Year.
