Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft review

Plot: Following the events of the Survivor series, Lara Croft has abandoned her friends to embark on increasingly more perilous solo adventures. But she must return home when a dangerous and powerful Chinese artifact is stolen from Croft Manor by a thief with an uncanny personal connection. Her daring pursuit will take her on an adventure around the world and to the depths of forgotten tombs, where she will be forced to confront her true self, and decide just what kind of hero she wants to become.

Review: The Tomb Raider franchise has always been stronger as a video game than it has been in live-action. The two Angelina Jolie-led feature films and the Alicia Vikander-led reboot were met with lukewarm reception. While the reboot hewed closer to the grittier tone of the more recent video games, none of the adaptations have captured the energy of Lara Croft in the way the franchise deserves. The Crystal Dynamics-produced Survivor trilogy, comprised of Tomb Raider, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider, was universally beloved by critics and fans as the best run in the series’ history. After the third and final game, the series now turns to an animated adaptation that continues the video game trilogy and a bridge from the prequels to the original entry in the Croft saga. Led by Hayley Atwell as Lara Croft, this Netflix animated series balances the humor and quick wit of the title character with an epic, globe-trotting adventure that fans will greatly appreciate.

Opening with a flashback to her time hunting for a Latin American artifact that shared a connection with Chinese history, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft begins with the title character mourning the loss of Conrad Roth (Nolan North), her Uncle, and dealing with her father’s legacy. When Lara (Hayley Atwell) decides to auction off all of Richard Croft’s artifacts, she runs into a thief named Charles Deveraux (Richard Armitage), who connects the Croft family and the mysterious item known as the Curse of God. Drawing on her experiences from the Survivor game trilogy, Lara teams with her friends Jonah (Earl Baylon) and Zip (Allen Maldonado) to reclaim the artifact and stop Deveraux from kick-starting another cataclysmic event. You know, typical Tomb Raider shenanigans. This also marks Zip’s first appearance since the 2008 game Tomb Raider: Underworld.

The series, having jumped over the trauma of how Lara lost Roth and the rift it drove between her and Sam Nishimura (Karen Fukuhara) and Joslin Reyes (Mara Junot), blends flashbacks to Lara’s trauma with her new adventure to find Deveraux. The eight-episode season brings the video game’s penchant for puzzles and riddles into the forefront rather than trying to make it into something different. A clear narrative thread connects the entire series, which owes a huge debt to the heavy character development from the three video games that directly preceded it. But, as dark as those games were, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft is lighter, breezier, and more fun. That does not mean it waters down the subject matter, as this animated series is not afraid to shed some blood. Some fans may not immediately like the style of this series, which is a staple of Netflix animated projects. Still, you cannot say that the series differs greatly from the source material besides the more colorful palette.

What helps this Tomb Raider excel where the films have failed is the charisma of Hayley Atwell. Best known for her work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Peggy Carter as well as Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Atwell has been a charming presence for years. Imbuing Lara Croft with some emotional depth to balance her smart-ass attitude, Atwell is not as distant and cold a figure as Angelina Jolie was, nor is she as scrappy as Alicia Vikander. Because Camilla Luddington’s work portraying Croft in the Survivor games set the tone, Atwell can take the character to the next level. The addition of the other voice actors opposite Atwell, including Zoe Boyle as Camilla and Roxana Ortega as Abby, fleshes out this series from being considered just a cartoon to being held up as a more respectable action series, animated or otherwise.

Developed by Tasha Huo, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft does a solid job of blending the mythology of the original series of games alongside the rebooted continuity. Huo previously wrote for the Netflix series The Witcher: Blood Origin and the upcoming Red Sonja film. Powerhouse Animation and Red Dog led the way with the animation work on the series. Powerhouse Animation has been a consistent presence in recent years with work on series including Castlevania, Blood of Zeus, Skull Island, and Masters of the Universe: Revelation. Their style is consistent and does not shift much in Tomb Raider, which may create hesitancy in viewers who are not fans of the anime style. Nevertheless, it works here even if it is not the realistic style the video games have become known for, but it still allows for this first of two greenlit seasons to be enjoyable.

Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft is a fun adventure in the video game universe that builds on the existing mythology and continuity rather than forging its own path. Blending existing characters with new ones works well, and the eight-episode run wraps with a lead-in for the already greenlit season two. Hayley Atwell is a phenomenal Lara Croft, even if it is only in voice. This is a fun series that fans of video games will appreciate, and that is mainstream enough to allow newcomers to join the adventure of Lara Croft and her team of treasure hunters. I don’t think this series will usurp plans for another live-action Tomb Raider movie, but producers of the next film should take a cue from the tone and style of this animated offering when developing the next big screen outing.

Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft premieres on October 10th on Netflix.