Season Review: Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft Season One

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Taking place after the Tomb Raider reboot trilogy, Lara Croft (Hayley Atwell) explores new territory as she confronts her traumatic past while unraveling an ancient mystery.

Our Take:   

Tomb Raider is another video game franchise that I was introduced to through its film adaptations.  The franchise has been largely known for laying the foundations for the action-adventure platforming genre and even revitalizing gaming in modern times.  It even gave birth to one of the most iconic and badass action heroines in video game history, Lara Croft, and it’s not just because of her empowerment.  Of course, its success led to the franchise having several film adaptations, which was my first exposure to the IP.  The early ones with Angelina Jolie weren’t exactly massive hits with critics, but they sure did make an enormous impression on audiences through their cheesiness and Jolie’s portrayal of the titular raider.

This brings us to the reboot trilogy by Crystal Dynamics that started in 2013, showcasing how a young and inexperienced Lara Croft became a well-known historian and explorer we saw in earlier installments.  With their stunning gameplay and invigorating stories, the reboot games delivered a refreshing take on a much-beloved action game heroine.  This led to the latest cinematic adaptation in 2018 that took heavy inspiration from the reboot trilogy, with Alicia Vikander taking over the role.  I was practically one of the few people who didn’t mind the 2018 adaptation regarding Vikander’s performance and action sequences.  Unfortunately, its mediocre reception resulted in Hollywood pressing the reset button again on the franchise, with another reboot in development at Amazon Studios.

This continuity wasn’t revisited until six years later via an anime-influenced series on Netflix, with Peggy Carter herself, Hayley Atwell, filling in the shoes of the tomb raider.  However, instead of retelling the reboot games, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft bridges the reboot trilogy and the original games that defined our childhoods and love for sexy game heroines.  Despite my lack of experience with the games, my exposure to the Tomb Raider movies was enough to admire its thrilling concept and inject my interest in the series.  However, the real concern regarding the show is whether this continuity is worth revisiting after a six-year delay.

Having a plot set between the reboot series and the original games is a compelling approach to the protagonist and world-building.  While Tomb Raider still showcases Lara’s cool-as-hell, adventurous persona, it also displays her as her most vulnerable, resulting in her being periodically inexperienced and even layered.  The eight-episode season consists of Lara traveling across the world to prevent a terrorist named Charles Devereaux (Richard Armitage) from collecting the Peril Stones and unleashing the end of the world.  Amid the journey, Lara also deals with the guilt she suffered from losing Conrad Roth (Nolan North), her father’s friend who died before the series’s events.  As a result, she pushes herself away from her allies, including Jonah (Earl Baylon) and Zip (Allen Maldonado), before eventually coming to terms with her past and herself.

I didn’t mind the earlier iterations of Lara Croft, mainly because it reminded me of a modern-day Indiana Jones mixed with elements of Uncharted and the supernatural.  However, I also admire the current version of the character because it injected a sense of humanity into Lara amid her archeologist and exploration skills.  It delivered much higher stakes, not just for its world-saving plots but also for Croft and the supporting characters due to her recklessness and grief, mainly the confrontation between her and Charles.  Regarding the execution, The Legend of Lara Croft respectfully honors the traits of the current games and its themes of grief and balance, even if its storytelling beats weren’t as historical as its treasures.

Regarding the film adaptations, audiences remember Lara Croft most from Angelina Jolie, not just from her performance but also from her physique.  It’s one of the reasons people refer to the first two films as “so bad it’s good” movies, similar to the 1990s “Mortal Kombat” film.  Alicia Vikander also got Lara Croft’s persona down pact in the 2018 adaptation, but not many people seem to remember her as much as Jolie.  This leaves us with Haley Atwell filling in the shoes of the historian/world-saving raider.  

I enjoyed Atwell in her other projects, especially the films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so I was eager to see her in a voice role in Tomb Raider.  It’s difficult to compare her performance with the other actresses that came before Atwell, but I will say that she did a damn good job with what she’s given regarding her performance.  She suitably captured Lara’s arrogance and pluckiness but was also at her best when she displayed her vulnerability.  The supporting cast also did pretty well in their roles, including Earl Baylon, who reprised his role as Jonah from the reboot trilogy.  Allen Maldonado, known for playing Curtis in “Black-ish”, provided some humorous moments as Zip, Lara’s tech expert, first introduced in the 2000 game “Tomb Raider: Chronicles”. 

The animation in The Legend of Lara Croft was produced by Powerhouse Animation Studios.  If the name sounds familiar to you, it’s the same animation company that brought us plenty of stellar Netflix animated content like Castlevania, Blood of Zeus, and Kevin Smith’s Masters of the Universe.  The company has an excellent track record of delivering great presentations utilizing anime-influenced 2D animation and CGI.  In Tomb Raider, the company’s streak continues to grow by emphasizing the globe-trotting action and vibrancy as seen in the games.  The CGI effects can look a bit rough at times, but they’re hardly a bother when overshadowed by its compelling style.

Overall, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft offers a suitably entertaining piece of treasure that fits well within the franchise’s lore.  Like its protagonist, its narrative can be a bit rusty in its footing, especially when following a similar pattern from Netflix’s other animated content.  One example, in particular, is its cliffhanger ending that sets up its second season.  That is, if we’re actually going to get it, because we all know how Netflix likes to cancel shows after just one season.  Besides that, it’s another delightful entry in the reboot continuity that’ll satisfy plenty of tomb-raiding fans and newcomers alike.