"Why is this not as good as Indy's first outing?" is a question you'll ask yourself as you watch Alicia Vikander's Lara Croft embark on her very first tomb raiding adventure, heading to a Japanese island, Yamatai, with the dual purpose of locating her long-lost father and unlocking secrets of the mythological Queen Himiko — certainly, she behaves like the archeologist Dr Jones with her combined athleticism and university smarts; there is a spectacular and thrilling waterfall sequence and even a dinghy; Croft's father recalls Sean Connery's bumbling academic; there is the hint of the supernatural as booby-trapped crypts are traversed and ancient cursed boxes are unsealed....but probably the answer lies in Lara's and the movie's persistent low affect — both simply refuse to indulge in any Indiana Jones fun.
★★★☆☆
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