Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Noisy, violent reboot feels like a wasted opportunity.
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Tomb Raider
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 30 parent reviews
Based on 42 kid reviews
Kids say the film is an exciting action-packed adventure that features a strong female lead, but it also contains a surprising amount of violence and gore that may not be suitable for younger audiences. While many praised Alicia Vikander's performance and the engaging storyline, some found the graphic content and frequent jump scares excessive, indicating that it is best suited for teens and mature viewers.
- strong lead
- excessive violence
- engaging storyline
- unexpected jump scares
- mixed reviews
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
What's the Story?
In TOMB RAIDER, Lara Croft (Alicia Vikander) works as a courier and practices kickboxing, barely making ends meet. In truth, all she has to do is sign a paper acknowledging that her father (Dominic West) is dead, and she can claim his massive inheritance. But she refuses to believe that he's gone. She finds a clue to his papers and records and decides to follow his trail to an obscure island off the coast of Japan. Lara hires a boat and captain (Daniel Wu) in Hong Kong, but they crash on the rocks. On the island, they discover the evil Mathias Vogel (Walton Goggins), who's searching for a source of great power and claims to have killed Lara's father. Before long, the tomb of the ancient Queen Himiko is found, but is the secret within worth finding?
Is It Any Good?
It would be great to finally see a good Lara Croft movie, but -- despite an appealing new star -- this Tomb Raider reboot repeats the last two movies' problems. And it even adds some new ones. Based on the hit video game series, all three of the Tomb Raider movies (including this one, 2001's Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, and 2003's Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life), are loud and relentless, with the action more like a thick bludgeon than a thing of swiftness or beauty. Scenes that are supposed to be exciting are more like an avalanche of noise and effects, with very little room to breathe. Most of all, Tomb Raider forgets to be fun.
Perhaps even worse, while the first two movies lacked character development, the new film -- based loosely on the 2013 game -- has too much, so much that Lara's personality is buried. Her every motivation seems to be due to her father or other, mostly male, characters. And she's not even as cocky or confident as Angelina Jolie was; she spends most of the movie screaming, crying in pain, or running away. There are precious few moments in which she stands up for herself or makes a choice for herself. Even finding the treasure isn't her idea. It's a shame that a franchise that was originally inspired by Indiana Jones -- and could have given us a great female action hero -- seems to have forgotten all the cool things that make adventuring worthwhile.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Tomb Raider's violence. How strong is it? Does the fact that it's largely bloodless affect its impact? Are all types of media violence created equal?
Is Lara Croft a strong female character? Do you consider her a role model?
Is Lara Croft objectified based on her appearance? Does she present an unrealistic body image?
How does this film compare with the previous two movies? With the video games? Which do you like best, and why?
How would you describe Lara's relationship with her father? How well do they communicate? How does it compare to your own relationships?
Movie Details
- In theaters : March 16, 2018
- On DVD or streaming : June 12, 2018
- Cast : Alicia Vikander , Hannah John-Kamen , Walton Goggins , Dominic West
- Director : Roar Uthaug
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s) , Black Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Warner Bros.
- Genre : Action/Adventure
- Topics : Adventures
- Run time : 118 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : sequences of violence and action, and for some language
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
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