Growing up, I remember spending summer vacations at my grandparents’ cottage while watching “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” on Saturday mornings with my dad and brothers. I loved the time spent with my family and the movie with Angelina Jolie. Filled with action, adventure and puzzles to solve, it was a perfect combination and something to look forward to watching. Because of how much I appreciated the original movie and the enjoyment it brought me as a kid, “Tomb Raider,” starring Alicia Vikander, had a lot to live up to, and it certainly did not disappoint.

I have always thought of Angelina Jolie as one of the best female action movie stars in the business. In “Tomb Raider,” Vikander unfortunately came short as a leading actress and fell in Jolie’s shadow. But while she is no Angelina Jolie, she does hold her own and provides an entertaining movie. Blind to some clear clues early in the movie, however, Croft (Vikander) remains determined to figure out more about her father’s work, leading to plenty of action from robbers, storms and eventually from the villain Mathias Vogel (Walton Goggins).

While some action scenes reminded me of a James Bond film, others made me question why there was even a fight going, as they seemed forced and avoidable. At certain points, it seemed as if the writers were trying too hard to fill time with a battle scene when one didn’t fit into the movie. The strongest scene of “Tomb Raider” came at the very end as Croft returned to London, ready to continue her father’s research and expeditions. Writers Geneva Robertson-Dworet, Alastair and Evan Daugherty have set up a perfect carry-over to make a sequel.

With an acceptable plot, a respectable main character played by Vikander, and an excellent villain played by Goggins, “Tomb Raider” is a movie I did enjoy and was drawn more and more into as time went on and the storyline progressed. Overall, I give this move a three and a half out of five stars due to its exciting plot line and for the enjoyment I received from re-living a key memory from my childhood experiences at my grandparent’s cottage.

Rate: 3.5/5

Aaron Harting is a senior economic and finance and history pre-law double major. This review reflects the opinion of the author only.