Earlier this week, Lara Croft fans breathed a collective sigh of relief when the first trailer for the new Tomb Raider movie dropped and was actually pretty good. There was a certain sense of déjà vu that accompanied the new footage. We already knew that the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot game was serving as an inspiration for Lara’s return to the big screen, but as you can see in this side-by-side comparison, several moments in the trailer appear to be directly lifted from the game itself. No wonder we kept trying to press the QTE buttons!
The Game vs. Movie Trailer Comparison was created by IGN, and it underscored our suspicion that the Tomb Raider game was practically being used as a video story board by the creative team behind the new film. Even Lara’s iconic jump from the ship is in the trailer, with the same slow motion effect. On one hand, it’s good to know that those moments clearly had an impact on the making of this film. However, it does make us wonder whether director Roar Uthaug and screenwriter Geneva Robertson-Dworet are going to give us their own iconic scenes that weren’t cribbed from the game.
A problem that has plagued many video game movies is the sensation that we’re watching a cut scene or an action sequence from a game that we’re not allowed to participate in. We’re meant to identify with the protagonists in games and fill in any of their personality gaps with our own. But a film has to work as its own experience. Simply recreating a game, even if it’s a great game, is not the same thing as making a good movie. And we really want Tomb Raider to be a good movie. Or better yet, a great one. We’re still very hopeful that’s what we’ll get when the film opens on March 16, 2018.
What did you think about this side-by-side comparison? Should the Tomb Raider movie create its own epic moments for Lara Croft? Explore your feelings in the comment section below!
Images: Square Enix/Warner Bros. Pictures/IGN
