Tomb Raider Needs to Learn From This Mediocre Video Game Adaptation’s Mistakes

Tomb Raider is the next video game to receive an adaptation with a series from Amazon Prime, and hype has been building for the franchise’s third live-action outing. Fans were thrilled to see a new photo this week of Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner in Lara Croft’s iconic outfit, and from what they have to go on so far, this is looking like it might be the best adaptation of Tomb Raider yet.

There is always room for apprehension, however; video game adaptations may have been getting better over the past few years with titles like Arcane or The Super Mario Bros. Movie, but they still haven’t quite shaken their reputation of leaving a lot to be desired, especially for the most hardcore of players. The Tomb Raider series’ closest comparison has long been Naughty Dog’s Uncharted (which fans have lovingly called “Dude Raider” for years), and while the latter’s film adaptation was well received in 2022, plenty of players felt that it missed the mark. If the newest Tomb Raider movie is really going to stick the landing, and cement its place as one of the better game adaptations, it will have to learn from Uncharted’s mistakes.

Uncharted Wasn’t Terrible, But It Was Forgettable

Returning to the Games is Much More Worth Your Time

As far as game adaptations go, viewers can do a lot worse than the Uncharted movie. On the surface, it’s a fun action romp with plenty of quips and action scenes to keep viewers entertained for its runtime. The film has done little to establish any kind of staying power, however, and even the most hardcore fans of the series have basically written it off. Fans weren’t thrilled with the casting: Mark Wahlberg, Tom Holland, and Sophia Ali are talented actors, to be sure, but it didn’t like they were able to capture the same chemistry and charisma of the games’ original cast. The familiar and fun interpersonal dynamics between the characters are especially important to the Uncharted formula, and having that piece missing meant the film fell flat for long-time fans.

Tomb Raider will have a slightly different hill to climb; Lara is more of a brooding, lone-wolf archetype than the cocky, swashbuckling Nathan Drake. A smaller cast to play off of could be either a boon or a curse, but what the Prime series will certainly need to capture is Lara’s cunning expertise and mysterious nature. Nailing a Tomb Raider adaptation is made even more difficult with everything riding on one actor’s shoulders, but from what we’ve seen of Turner’s work in Game of Thrones, she is more than capable of taking on the challenge. Establishing a clear, unique tone for a series that has been around for so long is a tall task, but it will be crucial in making sure the new Tomb Raider series actually leaves a mark, rather than fading into the woodwork like its predecessors.

We Don’t Need Another Lara Croft Origin Story

Origin Story Fatigue Has Set In

Uncharted chose to turn back the clock and establish Nathan Drake’s origin story (as well as his relationship to his mentor and adventuring partner, Sully), completely rewriting the origin players already got in the series’ third entry. This was a particularly baffling choice because it felt entirely unnecessary, and valuable screen time was spent establishing a relationship that doesn’t really require an explanation – especially to those already familiar with the series.

What’s interesting about Nate and Sully’s dynamic is not how they came to know each other, but the hints back to their long history of thrilling excursions and white-knuckled near-death experiences. It’s what made their relationship so compelling in the first few games, so why the creators of the film chose to wipe the slate clean in lieu of a less interesting origin than we even got in the games still remains a mystery.

Similarly, Tomb Raider fans are worried that the Prime series will choose to focus on yet another origin story for Croft, a story they already know well and don’t feel particularly compelled to see again. Constant reboots mean starting from scratch over and over, and these days, having to watch a character grow into the larger-than-life figure we already know and love them as feels like more of a chore than an adventure. Hopefully, the new series will jump right in with Lara already established as a world-class archaeologist and adventurer, rather than following in Uncharted’s underwhelming footsteps.

Tomb Raider’s New Series Needs to Capture the Essence of the Games

Uncharted Nailed Its Finale Set Piece

The most important aspect of any adaptation, regardless of medium, is that it captures the essence of what made the original great. It is the adapter’s job, then, to help translate the elements of the original into a new form while still maintaining its spirit. This was achieved especially well in the climactic sequence of Uncharted. Naughty Dog’s adventure series is known for its action set pieces, and the film delivered a jaw-dropping spectacle with a fight that happened across two pirate ships held aloft over the sea by helicopters. It doesn’t get more peak, campy Uncharted than that. This fight was one of the coolest parts of the movie, but more importantly, it felt like the most true to the spirit of the games than any other moment.

Tomb Raider needs to hone in on the most iconic moments from the games, while also not falling too hard into the fan service trap that so many adaptations do. Arcane is a great comparison for the dark, grounded tone that Tomb Raider has had for years, especially with the rebooted series that kicked off with Tomb Raider (2013). On top of the stunning action set pieces, the clever puzzling and detective-like mystery-solving, the one thing Prime needs to get right is Lara’s character. If they can nail these elements, it should make for not only a better adaptation than Uncharted, but one of the greatest video game adaptations of all time. For now, fans will just have to wait and see.