![]() TOMB RAIDER, DIRECTOR ROAR UTHAUG, ON SET, 2018. TOMB RAIDER, FROM LEFT: DIRECTOR ROAR UTHAUG, ALICIA VIKANDER, ON SET, 2018. Show Less Show More Photos TOMB RAIDER, DIRECTOR ROAR UTHAUG, ON SET, 2018. Next, Uthaug took on natural disaster in his Norway-set tsunami picture "The Wave" (2015). First, he released high stakes period piece "Escape" (2012), about the surge of the Black Plague. Uthaug experimented with a much lighter tone for his sophomore feature, the family-friendly fantasy picture "Magic Silver" (2009), but reverted once more to his natural severe sensibilities for his action-thrillers to follow. Uthaug made his first attempt at feature directing next, delivering the horror drama film "Cold Prey" (2006). He also spent his early days directing music videos for Norwegian artists like Vidar Busk, Unni Wilhelmsen, and Gåte. After enrolling in the Norwegian Film School, Uthaug developed the Student Academy Award-nominated short film "The Martin Administration" (2002), a politically charged comedy about a doomed blind date. His earliest cinematic pursuits were grim comic shorts like "Snørr" (1993), "En aften i det gronne" (1994), "DX13036" (1996), and "A Fistful of Kebab" (1998). Roar Uthaug was born on Augin Lørenskog, Norway. Early short films like "The Martin Administration" (2002), horror dramas like "Cold Prey" (2006), and action pieces like "The Wave" (2015) all rode high on the macabre sensibility that made Uthaug such an interesting creative presence. Unlike last week's A Wrinkle in Time, which didn't necessarily work as a whole, but was at least trying to do something fresh and innovative with the material it was based on Tomb Raider instead works as a coherent whole in terms of style and tone, but does nothing with these features to accentuate them in any special or meaningful way.No matter the genre, subject matter, or form of entry, Norwegian filmmaker Roar Uthaug approached just about every one of his cinematic endeavors with the same unmistakable dark sensibilities. Naturally, there are layers and bad guys along that way that make this journey a little more interesting or at least a little more dramatic, but it no matter how much Tomb Raider wants to feel like a fun adventure tale it is far too gritty and routine for its own good. Why someone would want to seek out much less break open the tomb of an ancient spirit that was capable of killing people simply by touching them is beyond me, but that is the quest we're sent on and the tomb we're meant to raid and so that is what unfolds. Once our titular protagonist gives into the life she was always meant to have, despite who she was when trying to make a living on her own accord being more interesting, Croft is quickly swept off to Hong Kong and then to the next level, I mean act, of the movie where we continue to go through stage after stage of Croft getting closer and closer to her end goal, which in this movie, has something to do with an ancient Queen that was said to command the power over life and death. The more reliable and realistic visual effects become the easier it will be to lean on them and while this seems to have become more and more apparent over the last few years it seems especially glaring when the source material for an effects-laden blockbuster is that of a fully digital world. It is when the movie goes from slyly intriguing to full-on what the target demographic expects from a Tomb Raider movie that most of the intrigue disappears and what we're left with is a series of action sequences that look like the actual video game that inspired the movie. There is a constant back and forth as one experiences the final product given there is real promise in what is essentially the entire first act as the viewer gets to know this younger, more inexperienced Lara Croft (Alicia Vikander) and the mysteries surrounding her father's disappearance as well as the issues she has been working through as a result of such. isn't necessarily bad, but it is pretty bland. The newly re-booted and freshly grounded Tomb Raider from Warner Bros.
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