Entertainment

There's Only One Thing 'Tomb Raider' Fans Agree On About The New Trailer

by S. Atkinson

Stop what you're doing right now. There's a brand new Tomb Raider trailer and regardless of how much you stan for Angelina Jolie's original movies, you've got to admit — Alicia Vikander looks like she's going to make a pretty incredible raider of tombs. Her character won't just be about action, adventure, and the sort of moves you might associate with the original video game, though.

Lara Croft is also going to be busy with some detective work from the looks of the trailer, having uncovered a cryptic message from her maybe-deceased dad, played by The Wire's Dominic West. There's also a moment in the trailer that will give Hunger Games devotees goosebumps — is that Katniss? Nope, it's Vikander, armed with a bow and multiple arrows in the woods.

So there's something for pretty much everyone, but still, according to Twitter, not everybody loves the trailer. Admittedly, that's just the nature of someone new taking on such an iconic role (see: every time we've ever got a new Bond and the column inches expended on whether or not the actor is a perfect fit for the role or just a pile of steaming human garbage). Happily in this instance, while Twitter is predictably at odds as to whether or not the trailer looks good, they're united in support of Vikander being the best.

1

Fans Love Her So Much That The Internet Actually Seems Like A Kind Place

Just when you're expecting a ton of snark, misogyny, and bad puns, this happens. The internet can be cute sometimes (you know, when you're not looking too closely). Clearly Vikander fans are some of the sweetest people online.

2

Still, Some Hate The Look Of The Reboot...

...but recognize that Vikander = life. It's hard not to appreciate @Milly8119's thoughtful dissection of the situation, because hey, it's hard to fit complexity and two seemingly disparate points of views into a 140-character limit. The actor is talented, but the reboot could mean endless tears of tragedy for those who liked the original movies.

3

Let's Put Things In Perspective

Preach. And this isn't just about the Tulip Fever star but the visuals of the film as a whole. As Metro has already observed, the Tomb Raider filmmakers have retained some set pieces from the 2013 reboot game, like the crashed airplane and the somewhere-near-Japan shipwrecked island. But yeah, the part where you just see her running in a straight line for an eerily long time (for a trailer, where every fraction of a second counts) and jumping from rock to rock felt deliberately tailored to those who have spent hours playing the video game as Lara Croft.

4

Again, She Really Is Like Lara Croft In The Game

At least from the looks of things on Twitter, people love her because she reminds them intensely of the video game character they spent so much time with in 2013.

5

Even The Gamers Have Nothing But Respect

Stranger things have happened. With the right casting and a story that sounds close to a previous game, this could be the Tomb Raider movie that gamers are super into.

6

And Jolie's Fans Can't Avoid The Truth Either

She does look badass in Tomb Raider. But sadly, the second part of this tweet is not true. It's starting to look like Lara Croft might be female viewers' answer to James Bond — a maverick agent doing her own thing that we can root for. As such, you can't expect just one woman to embody her forever.

7

People Are *Here* For This Movie

Chills. Just chills. Sometimes you want to front... but you're so excited and you just can't hide it, you're about to lose control (and tweet about doing a Tomb Raider reboot), and you think you like it.

8

Despite Worry That The Movie Will Be A Snoozefest, There's One Redeeming Feature

Twitter user @niamhnotneve isn't the only fan who thinks the trailer could suggest it's not that exciting. As user @ShortyKatyK observes, this could be to do with the game the new Tomb Raider movie is based on, stating, "The reboot had me like 'gotta save Sam from the cultist' second game was meh so of course they would base the movie on it."

9

Others Are Intrigued

She is amazing. Fun facts about the actor: She broke through to North America with the same film that scored a Best Foreign Film Oscar nomination, A Royal Affair; she's done everything from historical drama (Tulip Fever) to sci-fi (Ex Machina) to action (Jason Bourne, baby). So she's super well-equipped to play the video game icon. No wonder @ctskiles is so intrigued.

10

The Resemblance Is Uncanny

Not exactly an earth-shattering revelation, but this play-by-play sequence just reinforces how insanely similar the actor looks to the fictional character (as well as how the movie makers have made sure that this same similarity is pushed front and center in the trailer).

11

Um...

Well, it isn't. For one thing, Vikander is a longtime fan of the video franchise growing up and told Total Film, "I did play Tomb Raider back then, even though my parents said I wasn’t allowed to.” In the same interview, she talked about having focused on her physicality through dance for years. So nope, she's perfectly swashbuckling enough.

12

Even More Love For Vikander

Hey, when you've got it, you've got it. Whatever you think about the trailer, you have to admit that its star is making the fans super happy.

The results are in: Based on the trailer, maybe the movie's going to be great, or maybe it'll be terrible. Doesn't matter either way, because your favorite Swedish actor is going to be in it and that's all you need to know.