By Zoe Leininger
Having women in action roles is not a new phenomenon in the film industry. From Star Wars’ (George Lucas, 1977) Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) subverting the idea of a damsel in distress and rescuing herself, to Wonder Woman’s (Patty Jenkins, 2017) Diana (Gal Gadot) showing what a woman can be without the constraints of societal gender roles, strong female characters have resonated with both male and female audiences. Even taking into account the resounding success these characters and others like them have had, it is clear the genre of action and adventure movies has long been, and still is, overwhelmingly dominated by male characters.
When it comes to strong, compelling female leads in film, the 2018 film Tomb Raider has one of the best that I’ve seen in a while. Directed by Norwegian director Roar Uthaug and starring Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft, this film is a reboot of Simon West’s Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) starring Angelina Jolie. The original film is based off of the video game Tomb Raider that was first released by British gaming company Core Design in 1996. Vikander brings an intensity and vibrance to the role that makes her a great choice for the kick-butt protagonist Lara Croft.
When it comes to strong, compelling female leads in film, the 2018 film Tomb Raider has one of the best that I’ve seen in a while. Directed by Norwegian director Roar Uthaug and starring Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft, this film is a reboot of Simon West’s Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) starring Angelina Jolie. The original film is based off of the video game Tomb Raider that was first released by British gaming company Core Design in 1996. Vikander brings an intensity and vibrance to the role that makes her a great choice for the kick-butt protagonist Lara Croft.
Lara (Alicia Vikander) solving a puzzle to open an ancient tomb .
Lara Croft is a young woman living in London who works as a bicycle courier. She is the heiress to a large fortune but refuses to accept it because it would mean acknowledging that her missing father Lord Richard Croft (Dominic West) is dead. She finds a message that he recorded for her before he disappeared that instructs her to burn all his research on the legend of a Queen named Himiko who was said to have a curse that caused all that she touched to die. Instead of destroying the research, she decides to use it to try to find him. She teams up with a ship Captain Lu Ren (Daniel Wu) whose father disappeared along with Richard to figure out what happened to them. They soon find out that there is a bigger conspiracy going on when they are captured by a group of men lead by Mathias Vogal (Walton Goggins) who are hunting for Himiko’s tomb.
This arc that her character takes highlights the fact that there shouldn’t need to be a distinction between action heroes and female action heroes. Lara goes through the same difficulties that Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford)( Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1981) or Ben Gates (Nicolas Cage) (National Treasure, 2004) such as tensions with her father and being betrayed by those she trusts. Like these men, she is smart and resourceful as well as attractive. There are a couple shots of Lu Ren gazing at her on the boat, as well as a boy at a restaurant she delivers for in the beginning having a crush on her. It is a realistic sort of attractiveness, not the provocative, sexualized female warrior that women in this role are often portrayed as.
This arc that her character takes highlights the fact that there shouldn’t need to be a distinction between action heroes and female action heroes. Lara goes through the same difficulties that Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford)( Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1981) or Ben Gates (Nicolas Cage) (National Treasure, 2004) such as tensions with her father and being betrayed by those she trusts. Like these men, she is smart and resourceful as well as attractive. There are a couple shots of Lu Ren gazing at her on the boat, as well as a boy at a restaurant she delivers for in the beginning having a crush on her. It is a realistic sort of attractiveness, not the provocative, sexualized female warrior that women in this role are often portrayed as.
The “fox hunt” at the beginning of the film highlights Lara’s adventurous side.
As a character, Lara develops really well. There is depth to her at the beginning of the film that keeps growing as the film progresses. The first time we are introduced to her she is being beaten in a boxing ring by another female boxer. This establishes right off the bat that she is athletic and capable, but not invincible. In fact Vikander herself put on twenty pounds of muscle while training for the role (Cohen, 2018).Her reaction to her defeat shows us she is determined and driven, if somewhat aloof. The reason for her aloofness is soon revealed when we learn who her father is and that he is presumed dead. She is stuck in the past, refusing to believe her father is dead and always up for a challenge. This last trait is shown in the beginning when she agrees to be the fox in a bicycle “fox hunt” through the streets of London. Not only does this episode give us a fabulous street chase, we see her attitude shine through as she knows that she is just as good, if not better, than any of the boys chasing behind her.
The shift in her character comes when she finds clues to what happened to her father. Through flashbacks of her memories of him and conversations with other people we learn that she is directionless after losing him. She is educated but working as a bike courier and she has distanced herself from her father’s world of “boardrooms and business deals” saying that “I’m not that kind of Croft”. She is in a meeting with her lawyer to sign the document declaring her father is dead when she finds a key hidden inside one of his Japanese puzzle boxes. She runs out of the shiny, modern conference room to go to her family’s crypt. This scene marks the turning point she has as she decides to stop running from the past, but find out it’s secrets.
The shift in her character comes when she finds clues to what happened to her father. Through flashbacks of her memories of him and conversations with other people we learn that she is directionless after losing him. She is educated but working as a bike courier and she has distanced herself from her father’s world of “boardrooms and business deals” saying that “I’m not that kind of Croft”. She is in a meeting with her lawyer to sign the document declaring her father is dead when she finds a key hidden inside one of his Japanese puzzle boxes. She runs out of the shiny, modern conference room to go to her family’s crypt. This scene marks the turning point she has as she decides to stop running from the past, but find out it’s secrets.
Lara and Lu Ren (Daniel Wu) walking through the forest after being captured by Vogal (Wolton Goggins).
While her initial launch into action is her need for her father, when she does find him she has to make a choice for herself on what she will do next. Her father is upset that she didn’t burn his research as he asked her to and now an organization called Trinity is close to opening the tomb. She combats his protests against her going to fight back against Vogal saying that he taught her to never give up. To his claim that he was a different man when he taught her that she says “Well, I am still his daughter”. She went into the journey to find her father, but at this point she learns that she needed to learn how to be herself without him. She makes the decision to save him by opening the tomb for Vogal. She leads the party inside, and ultimately stops Vogal from getting out to give Trinity the weapon they found inside.
Just as the world of action films is mostly populated by men, Lara finds herself the only female among a crowd of men hunting for the tomb. She is following after her father in his quest for the mystic. After she embarks on her adventure she is surrounded only by men. Her character grows as she holds her own in this situation, escaping from Vogal, figuring out puzzles and performing daring stunts with determination. This film is an adventure that firmly plants Vickander’s Lara Croft among the ranks of Hollywood’s action heroes.
Works Cited:
Cohen, Jess. “Every Workout Alicia Vikander Did to Prepare for Tomb Raider”. E!News. Entertainment Television, 27 Feb. 2018. Web. April 2020.
Just as the world of action films is mostly populated by men, Lara finds herself the only female among a crowd of men hunting for the tomb. She is following after her father in his quest for the mystic. After she embarks on her adventure she is surrounded only by men. Her character grows as she holds her own in this situation, escaping from Vogal, figuring out puzzles and performing daring stunts with determination. This film is an adventure that firmly plants Vickander’s Lara Croft among the ranks of Hollywood’s action heroes.
Works Cited:
Cohen, Jess. “Every Workout Alicia Vikander Did to Prepare for Tomb Raider”. E!News. Entertainment Television, 27 Feb. 2018. Web. April 2020.
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