Tomb Raider: The Legend Of Lara Croft Review - Attractive But Underwhelming

Netflix's new animated series, "Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft," is in a tough spot for two reasons in particular. One: It has to compete in a genre that consistently pushes out bold, inventive, and more creative stories than ever. Recent animations like "Blue Eye Samurai," "Scavengers Reign," and the second season of "Invincible" set the bar so high with their visionary approach and top-tier quality that any effort to match that has become increasingly harder. Two: On top of that, producer and showrunner Tasha Huo's adaptation has to capture the milieu of an iconic video game series and its beloved character, which has been widely celebrated by millions of fans in a long-running franchise for over two decades.

Against these odds, it's almost inevitable that the 8-episode show will falter and stumble at some point while attempting to live up to those extremely high standards.

"The Legend of Lara Croft" picks up after the events of the Survivor Trilogy (the video games made by Crystal Dynamics between 2013 and 2018), aiming to fill the gap in the Tomb Raider timeline between the original games and the reboot. We begin with a flashback where Lara (Hayley Atwell) and her uncle, Roth (Robin Atkin Downes), are deep inside the Chilean jungle, searching for a precious artifact. Once they find it, they get in some life-threatening trouble with the locals. Cut to three years later, we learn that Roth was killed there, and Lara blames herself for his death. She tries to outrun her grief and guilt by moving from country to country, knowing she has to get home sooner or later — and after a worried phone call from her friend, Jonah (Earl Baylon reprising his role from the games), she finally returns to England.

To start anew, Lara holds an auction to get rid of most of her father's and uncle's historical and cultural items. During the event, however, a thief breaks into the Croft mansion and steals the box that Lara and Roth found in Chile three years ago. Though she chases after him, he gets away — but not without revealing his face to us. The artifact he stole is supposed to contain the power of one of the four mythical gemstones, which, we later learn, is what the mysterious man is after. With the help of her tech-savvy friend, Zip (Allen Maldonado), Lara sets out to find and catch the person who soon becomes a much more menacing threat (thanks to some otherworldly powers) than she ever expected. In classic Tomb Raider fashion, we follow our hero through multiple gorgeous continents that hold a great deal of dangerous adventures of all kinds.

Story hasn't necessarily been the "Tomb Raider" games' greatest asset, for better or worse, but it usually provided an alluring, exotic, living-and-breathing world to immerse ourselves in. The discovery of ancient places, mythological figures, and cultural legends is one of the best things that continually propelled the games to give us an exciting and intriguing experience. That's partly true for the animated series, too.

The plot of "Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft" follows a standard formula of chasing MacGuffins and bad guys, with a few surprises along the way — but it doesn't particularly stand out from the line of similar stories. What's slightly different here than in previous adaptations is the embrace of mythic creatures and magical powers that are vital parts of the narrative. Unfortunately, they're infrequent and range between mildly inspired and totally unoriginal, lacking the oomph that could elevate the series and make it truly memorable. It's a shame since the early episodes offer some promising potential to go wild with ancient monsters and creatures alike, but the show never gets bold enough to take advantage of them in any major or inventive way.

Unable to find a dramatic balance, "Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft" is the classic case of falling between two stools. Given the rich backstory of the titular character and her allies and adversaries, their portrayal is disappointingly one-dimensional. It's too shallow and unchallenging for adults, and too heavy and grim for kids. Throughout the season, there's an appealing attempt to explore the ramifications of grief and self-identity, but it's constantly undercut by theatrical dialogue and overdramatized plot points. Despite her physical and mental toughness, Lara repeatedly gets emotional in odd situations when it's totally uncalled for. We understand how difficult it is for her to move on and let go, but the writing often emphasizes that so heavy-handedly that it becomes counterproductive and distracting. It feels as if the writers didn't have enough belief in the characters and their ability to convey feelings without having to spell out everything for the viewer.

Without strong and relatable characters to root for, the series doesn't have much left to impress. If there's one area, however, where the show undoubtedly excels, it is the lavish yet minimalistic visuals. The animation is simple and old-school, evoking a sense of beauty in its own right — especially when it depicts prehistoric constructions, caves, or some mesmerizing entities. To some extent, that fluidity and richness bleed into the action scenes as well (even if the execution is pretty standard these days), but there are a few unnecessarily dumb and over-the-top moments in those sequences that simply break the rhythm. They're meant to make Lara look cool as hell, but they often come off as rather silly.

Overall, "The Legend of Lara Croft" fails to capture the same flair and sense of adventure that's so deeply embedded in the video games. Though the series manages to carry over some of the iconic look, style, and atmosphere, it pales in comparison. If you want the full Tomb Raider experience, you're better off picking up the Survivor trilogy or replaying the original games that established the franchise.

"Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft" premieres on Netflix on October 10.