The Tomb Raider games
Let's start with a little quiz. Some of you may already know the answer but for everyone else: Try answering the following question before you continue reading. In which year was the first Tomb Raider game published?
1️⃣ 1996 2️⃣ 2000 3️⃣ 2004
The first part of the Tomb Raider game series was simply called "Tomb Raider" and was initially released for the Sega Saturn game console, but was also playable on MS-DOS and Playstation (PS1 actually) after a while. If you know when these systems were popular, you can now also assume when the first Tomb Raider part came out: Right, in 1996. That was 25 years ago! Accordingly, the game cannot be compared with today's video games, but it was a huge success back then. The game is one of the best-selling games for the PlayStation (Source).
Only one year later, the next game with the adventure-loving archaeolist Lara Croft followed: Tomb Raider 2. Compared to the first part, new weapons, environments and vehicles were added. Another year later Tomb Raider 3 was released, followed by Tomb Raider - The Last Revelation in 1999. So there were 4 Tomb Raider games in the years 1996-1999, players had a lot of different stories and settings to choose from in those first years. And the next part followed only a year after that once again: Tomb Raider - Chronicles (2000) let players play old stories from Lara's past.
The fans of the GameBoy Color were not disappointed either: There was a Tomb Raider game for them too, even if it didn't had much to do with the other parts. Another game in the franchise followed in 2003 for PS2 and PC: Tomb Raider - The Angel of Darkness. This was followed by Tomb Raider - Legend (2006), Tomb Raider - Anniversary (2007), Tomb Raider - Underworld (2008) & Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light (2010).
The 2003 reissued Tomb Raider game was the first one I played myself. It was playable on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC (meanwhile there is also a Definitive Edition for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One as well).
This part is the best-selling of the Tomb Raider series and was able to cast me under its spell at that time: A large island inhabited by dangerous strangers, on which unusual things were happening, was super exciting. Especially because you (or rather Lara Croft) were stranded on this island and there were no way to escape.
This one was followed by Rise of the Tomb Raider (2016) and Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018). I also played these two games, this time on the Playstation 4. I was absolutely enthusiastic about both stories (I generally love all adventure games / films such as Uncharted, Indiana Jones etc.) and the setting was super cool as well. In Rise of the Tomb Raider Lara is flying to Siberia in search of the lost city of Kitesch and looking for a lost artifact, she ends up in Mexico (Shadow of the Tomb Raider).
The newer Tomb Raider games are really my favorite video games ever. Accordingly, I'm also thinking about whether I shouldn't play the older games, especially since all of them are now available for PC or partly also for Android.
Tomb Raider movies - Yay or nay?
Because I love the new Tomb Raider games so much, I was - of course - very excited about the corresponding films. To date there are 3 Tomb Raider films: 2 with Angelina Jolie and a relatively new part.
Okay, I have to admit that I haven't seen the two parts from 2001 and 2003 with Angelina Jolie. Not because I don't like Angelina Jolie (I really like her actually), but more because the trailers didn't really appeal to me. I guess everybody knows it: A movie looks very interesting at first, but when you watch the trailer you just notice that you would rather watch another film. That's how it was for me with the older Tomb Raider movies (you can see the trailer for yourself below). Maybe one day I'll catch up on that, but right now I have other movies I want to see first.
I know I promised you to explain why the Tomb Raider movies weren't as good as the games and now I can only focus on the latest Tomb Raider film. On the other hand, that's not that bad, because the older films with Angelina Jolie didn't do particularly well anyway, and both got relatively bad ratings. So let's ignore them for noe and focus on the newest movie.
I saw the Tomb Raider movie from 2018 in cinema twice - once in German with a friend and the other time in English, I just wanted to watch it with original sound as well. Apparently I really liked the movie back then, at least my review was quite positive. Btw I found another one of my posts where I explain why I love the Tomb Raider games. If you want you can check that out here.
As I wrote in my review back then, the cast (Alicia Vikander and Angelina Jolie in the old films) wasn't my problem. There were some viewers who didn't find the two to be the ideal cast, but hey - there are always people like that. But for me both were convincing in the role of Lara Croft. I also found the story of the new film basically not bad. This is reminiscent of the games and was therefore definitely appealing. The big problem in contrast to the video games: The games are much more extensive. If you look at the latest Tomb Raider part as a non gamer, you probably won't find it bad at all (it's actually a good movie in general, definitely suitable as an action / adventure film). But as a player of the Tomb Raider series you are simply used to exploring different caves and graves, experiencing unexpected story turns and encountering a lot of opponents on the way which will lead Lara into dangerous situations over and over again. Unfortunately, the film did not have this depth of content. For the most part, the story remained relatively superficial, which is definitely a shame. Of course, the video games have a much longer playing time in which you can accommodate a lot more content, but despite all of this there was too much Lara Croft and too little Tomb Raider in the newest movie.
For me Tomb Raider is about exploring the surrounding in order to survive. It is about experiencing an thrilling adventure that just won't let you get bored even for a second. Playing Tomb Raider means that you discover other cultures and reveal long lost treasures. And that's sadly not what the movie (for most parts) deals with.
Despite everything, the latest Tomb Raider movie is definitely not bad. So if you are in the mood for a blockbuster adventure film, you can't make a mistake watching it. But for fans of the video games, the film remains a disappointment. One has to hope that the announced second part of the Tomb Raider films with Alicia Vikander in the leading role will be better. Although the second part has been delayed indefinitely, it will most likely be coming to cinemas soon. Hopefully with more of an real Tomb Raider feeling.
What do you think of the Tomb Raider movies and are you excited about the upcoming second part of the new Tomb Raider series? Let me know in the comments 👇
Thanks for reading & see you next time.
Cheers ✌