Film

Tomb Raider

Name: Tomb Raider
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Released: 2018
Cast: Alicia Vikander, Dominic West, Walton Goggins, Daniel Wu, Kristin Scott Thomas

A video-game reboot that trades camp for grit: Alicia Vikander's Lara Croft starts broke, restless and physically overmatched before she's mythic. The film front-loads punishing survival sequences — falls, rapids, starvation — before the tombs and traps even arrive. It's origin story as endurance test, closer to a scrappy survival thriller than the swaggering pulp of earlier adaptations. Good for anyone who wants their action hero to visibly suffer for the adventure.

TMDb rating

6.4

If you liked this

Raiders of the Lost Ark1981

This is the blueprint every tomb-raiding hero since has been quoting, whether they admit it or not — Indy's mix of scholarship, dread and slapstick set the template Lara's still working from. Endlessly rewatchable, still funny, still tense.

But The archaeology is fantasy, the politics of the era are dated, and if you've seen it a dozen times already there's no surprise left.

The Mummy1999

Same pulpy energy — ancient curse, crumbling ruins, a hero who's braver than she is prepared — but leans fully into camp and comedy rather than grim survival. Brendan Fraser is having the time of his life.

But It's broader and sillier than Tomb Raider, with CGI that hasn't aged gracefully and a tone that's pure theme-park ride.

Uncharted2022

The other big video-game adventure adaptation of the era, chasing the same puzzle-box treasure-hunt thrill with Tom Holland instead of Vikander. Good for direct comparison — same DNA, different star wattage.

But Lighter on consequence and heavier on quips; it never risks the grimness Tomb Raider commits to in its first half.

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre1948

Tomb Raider is about a daughter chasing her father's obsession with a legendary find; this 1948 classic is the cautionary tale about what that obsession does to a person once the gold is actually within reach.

Bogart leads a trio of prospectors into the Mexican mountains chasing gold, and the film watches, unflinching, as the hunt curdles into paranoia and violence. It's the tomb-raiding genre's conscience.

But There's no action-movie payoff here — it's slow, moral, and deliberately denies you the triumphant treasure-hunt ending.

National Treasure2004

Swap tombs for American history and you get the same procedural-adventure pleasure — codes, clues, a race against rival treasure hunters — but with a breezier, family-friendly heart.

But The history is pure invention and the stakes never feel physically dangerous the way Lara's ordeal does.

The Lost City2022no page yet

A jungle treasure hunt played almost entirely for laughs, with Sandra Bullock as the reluctant adventurer and Channing Tatum as the world's most earnest liability. Great palate cleanser.

But If you wanted more grit and less rom-com banter, this leans hard the other way.

Romancing the Stone1984

An '80s classic that mixes a treasure map, a jungle, and a reluctant heroine finding out she's tougher than she thought — Lara's arc in miniature, decades earlier, with more one-liners.

But Very much a product of its decade in pacing and gender dynamics; charming rather than thrilling by today's standards.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade1989

The father-and-child adventure that Tomb Raider echoes almost beat for beat — a parent's obsession with an ancient mystery pulling their child into danger, played with warmth and wit.

But It's gentler and funnier than Tomb Raider's survivalist grimness; don't expect the same physical punishment.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade poster

Jungle Cruise2021no page yet

A studio-shiny riverboat adventure with a family curse, a hidden temple, and two mismatched leads bickering their way toward treasure while Dwayne Johnson mugs for the camera. Purely comfort viewing.

But It's glossy where Tomb Raider is scrappy, and the CGI-heavy set pieces feel weightless by comparison.

Sahara2005no page yet

A lesser-known globe-trotting adventure — Matthew McConaughey chasing a lost Civil War ironclad through the desert — that scratches the same 'ordinary hero improvising through ancient mystery' itch.

But It's a minor entry with mixed reviews at the time; fun but forgettable next to the others on this list.

Free Solo2018

Vikander did much of her own physical training and stunt work for Lara's falls and climbs; this documentary shows exactly what that kind of real, unforgiving physical risk looks like when there's no CGI safety net underneath it.

A real climber, Alex Honnold, scales El Capitan without ropes, and the film's tension comes entirely from watching a human body do something that shouldn't be survivable. No fantasy stakes — just breath and grip strength.

But There's no plot, no villain, no treasure — just one man's private, obsessive relationship with risk. It can feel closer to nature documentary than adventure film.

The Revenant2015

Both films open with a brutal survival ordeal — cold, hunger, injury — as the true engine of the story; The Revenant simply refuses to ever cut away to the treasure-hunt fun and stays in that register for two and a half hours.

Leonardo DiCaprio drags himself through freezing wilderness on pure survival instinct and grief, in a film that treats endurance as the whole plot rather than a prelude to the fun part. Visceral, punishing, gorgeously shot.

But It is relentlessly grim with almost no levity — a very different evening than the pulp-adventure fun Tomb Raider eventually settles into.