LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER
Stylish action cannot overcome this film’s abhorrent pagan worldview.
Should You Watch It?
LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER offers constant action, international locations, and some interesting visual moments. But the script is filled with major plot holes, the characters are thinly developed, the romance is weak, and the direction is lackluster. The movie also lacks enough humor to make its silliness work.
The larger problem is spiritual. The story centers on an occult triangle that supposedly gives its owner the power to become god, mixing occultism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and references to Christianity without acknowledging that these beliefs conflict. Although the occult threat is eventually overcome and the foul language and sex are limited, the movie still relies heavily on false religious concepts.
You should skip this movie, especially for family viewing.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESLara Croft, played by Angelina Jolie, is an adventurer and tomb raider who inherits an English manor house from her father. When an occult device connected to his work comes under threat, Lara races against a group called the Illuminati to find two pieces of an ancient triangle.
The Illuminati want to assemble the artifact during a rare planetary alignment so their leader can become god. Lara follows clues across Cambodia and the Arctic while facing evil men, machines, and mythological creatures.
Is It Any Good?
Three stars means this has some entertainment value, but not enough to overcome its serious flaws. The action scenes can be effective, and the travelogue-like locations give the film some visual interest. The movie also has style in places.
But the direction is lackluster, and the script is often laughable. Large plot holes, weak dialogue, and devices that make Lara’s challenges too easy keep the story from creating real jeopardy. The character development is weak, the scenes between Lara and her romantic interest are especially poor, and Angelina Jolie’s repeated posing grows tiresome.
The Worldview
LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER presents an eclectic pagan worldview built from occultism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and a few references to Christianity. The story treats an occult triangle as a source of godlike power, while failing to address the contradictions among the different religious systems it combines. The threat is eventually overcome, but occultism remains central to the story’s ideas.
The film also presents the possibility of becoming god as a goal worth pursuing. That conflicts directly with biblical teaching about the uniqueness and authority of the one true God. Scripture warns against turning to other spiritual powers and commands, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3).
The movie’s confused pluralism can make false religious concepts appear interchangeable or harmless. Its action and style may attract viewers, but the underlying ideas are not spiritually neutral.
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Eclectic pagan worldview with a confused mix of occultism, Hinduism, Buddhism & even a few references to Christianity (although the threat of an all-powerful occult force is overcome, this mix ignores the fact that these religions conflict on the salient points presented in the story & that occultism itself is affirmed); 5 obscenities & 2 profanities; constant action violence including fighting with horrific creatures, maniacal machines & evil men, lots of underlings die by machine gun, by monsters, by falling from heights, etc., some blood when heroine grabs knife by blade, & villain gets stabbed, but movie keeps the blood to a minimum; kissing & inferences to sexuality; heroine in lingering shower scene, rear female nudity, heroine dressed in tight fitting, revealing clothing, & male nudity, but private parts not shown; alcohol use; smoking & suggestion of drugs by villain; and, lying, cheating, fraud, &, a surplus of tattoos.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
The film mixes several religions as though their differences do not matter. Why does Scripture insist that God alone is worthy of worship?
Exodus 20:3 · Isaiah 45:5What is attractive about the promise of becoming god, and why is that promise spiritually dangerous?
Genesis 3:5 · Isaiah 42:8How can a movie’s style and action make its ideas seem more believable than they are? What does Scripture say about testing ideas carefully?
Acts 17:11 · Colossians 2:8Why do Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, and occultism not simply fit together as interchangeable beliefs? How should Christians speak truthfully and graciously about religious differences?
Acts 17:22–31 · 1 Peter 3:15The Final Word
LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER has action and visual style, but its weak script and lackluster direction are overshadowed by an abhorrent mix of occult and false religious ideas. For your family and your conscience, SKIP IT. Choose something better from.
