Fans of smashing ancient walls and finding lost civilizations on a regular basis, rejoice: The first full-length trailer for MGM's Tomb Raider arrived overnight.

Starring Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina, The Man From U.N.C.L.E.) as Lara Croft, Tomb Raider appears to adapt elements of 2013's hit video game reboot of the same name as well as its sequel, Rise of the Tomb Raider. It's Norwegian director Roar Uthaug's (The Wave) first American film, and judging from this first trailer, it promises the thrills and emotional intensity that made the video game so interesting.

So let's break it down and try to see what this Tomb Raider has in store for audiences.

A Survivor is Born

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We know from the film's synopsis that Lara is a college student who works as a bike messenger, and initially refuses to accept the death of her father, Lord Richard Croft (played by Dominic West). But as an unnamed woman working for Croft Holdings tells Lara, "Your father is gone. You can pick up where he left off." After unlocking a puzzle and discovering her father's hidden study, Lara decides to follow in the footsteps of her adventurer father and embarks on a search for a mythical island off the coast of Japan so that she, as Lord Croft pleads via recorded message, can "close the tomb, once and for all" and save humanity.

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Lara is a risk-taker, a skilled fighter and a quick-witted survivor, qualities tgat developed out of necessity; that was the point of the game's story. That concept appears to be the heart of this film as well, despite the obvious changes to Lara's backstory and, perhaps more significantly, to Lara herself.

Defying Death ... Classic Lara

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Lara tries to persuade a hesitant ship captain, Lu Ren (played by Daniel Wu), to commit to this journey with her, promising that their voyage into the Devil's Triangle "will be an adventure," to which Ren fearfully replies, "Death is not an adventure."

That scene, and the fact that Lara never panics or cries, suggests the film's protagonist is a little different from her counterpart in the 2013 game, and more akin to the classic Lara Croft of the 1990s and early 2000s, who routinely defied death.

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The Main Madmen

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The antagonists in the games and now, clearly, in the film are Father Mathias, the leader of cult, and the ancient organization known as Trinity.

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Walton Goggins (The Shield, Justified) plays Mathias, and from what little we see of him in the trailer, it appears he's not the madman fans remember from the game. While the Solarii are absent from the trailer, Mathias is certainly not alone on the island, as we can see when Lara fights a gun-wielding man in combat clothing. There's a chance Mathias is more than just the stranded cult member from the game, and instead part of something larger. Judging by the way Mathias is dressed, it's likely Tomb Raider will depict him as an actual member of Trinity and not some desperate shipwreck survivor forced to serve the Sun Queen.

Trinity

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We hear Lord Croft warning Lara that Trinity cannot be allowed to succeed. We later see her unfolding a map with "Trinity" written on it, so we're pretty certain she'll take on the organization.

In the game, Trinity is an ancient military organization that seeks to control the world through mystical means. Focus is placed on them in Rise of the Tomb Raider, in which they seek an ancient artifact that grants its holder immortality and power. With the mention of an ancient tomb, it's entirely possible the Trinity of the film will be after the same thing.

Shipwrecked

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One of the first trailers for the 2013 video game showed Lara relaxing below deck on a ship out at sea. A storm appears seemingly out of nowhere, and all hell breaks loose. We're given a similar scene in this trailer, in which Lara rushes from a sinking ship and dives into the ocean.

That doesn't exactly prove how closely the events of the film will follow those of the game, but we can likely say that some of the scenes hew closely to those from the video games, which is something not a lot of game adaptations try to do.

Raiding Tombs

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There's one scene that shows Lara's father entering a tomb with a couple of unidentifiable companions, and scanning the ancient walls around  them with flashlights. Ahead of them is a dusty but magnificent-looking coffin, one presumably belonging to the Mother of Death  Lord Croft mentioned in his video will. Later we see Lara beside that same coffin.

With the introduction of Trinity to the film's world, it's quite possible Tomb Raider will feature an adaptation of the Sun Queen from the game. It would make sense with the hinted stakes of the film, as that kind of power is definitely something that would place the entire planet at risk.

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The Cursed Island

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The trailer shows a lot of forest, and focuses on the theme of survival that's present throughout the video game. We see Lara traverse the crumbling wing of a rusted aircraft, and Mathias with a pile of supplies behind him, so while we're fairly certain that something is trapping people on this island, the culprit remains unclear.

In the game, it's the powerful Sun Queen, Himiko, who trapped on the island anyone who ventured too close, and kept them from escaping with powerful mystical storms and waves. While there is mention of a powerful figure in that tomb, it's uncertain whether she will be the powerful god-like adversary depicted in the game.

Death Traps

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We can definitely assume the filmmakers haven't forgotten that Lara Croft is famous as a puzzle-solving, trap-evading archaeologist. In the trailer, she solves numerous puzzles and dodges ancient spiky death-traps that closely resemble those in the games.

We also have to point out the awesome scene of Lara falling into a rushing current, and trying out whitewater rafting without the raft, clearly an adaptation of the mountain-descent section of the game in which Lara is carried down a mountain by powerful currents while dodging broken branches and fallen trees, and ultimately lands on an old aircraft -- much like the one she's seen standing on in the trailer.

Tomb-Raiding Gear

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Lara is seen in the trailer wielding a bow and a pick-ax, all the gear she has in the video game. That places emphasis on makeshift gear composed of scraps that she picks up from around the island.

By the looks of it, Tomb Raider sticks closely to the overall look of the source material. Lara's gear and even her outfit appear to have been taken straight from the 2013 game; even her bandages are on-point when compared to the character model.

"I'll Take Two"

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At the end of the trailer, Lara stands beside a wall of guns next to Nick Frost (who plays an unknown character) and the woman from Croft Holdings. She picks up the dual pistols and says, "I'll take two," in a clear nod to longtime Tomb Raider fans, who remember the iconic weapons.

It's clear the filmmakers chose not to adapt the story of the pistols from the 2013 game, in which Lara is given the pistols from a dying friend of the family who sacrifices himself to save her. It's a touching story, but perhaps one the film doesn't have time for. Still, the inclusion of the pistols is enough to get any fan excited.

Now all she needs is that seemingly magical backpack with the limitless capacity ...


Opening March 16, 2018, Tomb Raider stars Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft, Daniel Wu as Lu Ren, Walter Goggins as Mathias and Dominic West as Lord Richard Croft.