The New Tomb Raider's Lara Croft Uncovers Treasure in Depth

The first trailer for the new Tomb Raider movie is out, and if your relationship with Lara Croft began and ended in the 1990s, this is most certainly not the heroine you remember. Gone is the outlandishly buxom, clearly-designed-by-dudes lady Indiana Jones played by Angelina Jolie and a bunch of jagged pixels. In her place is a far more understated, realistic heroine. That's because this reboot is taking after another reboot—a reset of the game series, one that started in 2013 and ushered in a whole new era of Croft.

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That game, also called Tomb Raider because the world is a confusing place, looks a lot like the upcoming movie based on it. They have the same basic premise: Lara Croft goes on a journey to a dangerous, possibly magic, island, following in the footsteps of her archaeologist father. Her boat crashes, Lara gets captured by the baddies, and everything spirals out from there.

The new Lara Croft introduced in that game, written by Rhianna Pratchett (a storied games and comics scribe, and daughter of the late fantasy writer Terry), is designed as a direct repudiation of the '90s iteration of the character. This Lara is more complex, more human, and still learning the ropes of raiding tombs. Tomb Raider 2013 is a chronicle of Lara's suffering and survival, a story about a woman who goes into a situation she's unprepared for and learns to fight her way out. If you want an indication of where this movie is going (and/or if you want to raid some tombs yourself), it's worth checking out. The film seems to be imitating it heavily; Lara's outfit, the look and feel of the ship and island, and the inclusion of a climbing pick as a primary tool for the young archaeologist, are are all pulled directly from the game.

This Lara (played in the movie by Oscar-winner Alicia Vikander) is a heroine who fits much better in 2017, the age of a fully realized Wonder Woman and an increasing awareness in Hollywood that audiences want good stories with complicated, admirable women in them. In the game, Lara is the sole agent of her own growth, a hero who is worth admiring and journeying with. Hopefully Vikander's Croft will be too.