TOMB RAIDER (2018)
A thrilling, morally strong adventure with discernment for younger children.
Should You Watch It?
TOMB RAIDER is a whole lot of fun, and it is better and more exhilarating than the two previous Lara Croft movies. Alicia Vikander makes Lara spunky, charming, tough, smart, and beautiful. The filmmakers also give the adventure a sweet, touching father-daughter story with a strong moral center.
The costs are real but limited. The movie includes foul language, intense action violence, several minor mythological references, and brief references to the supernatural, magical powers, and an afterlife. Still, the film does not endorse occult powers, false theology, or paganism.
So, if your family can handle the content, take the trip. Parents of elementary-age children should decide carefully; middle schoolers and older are the source review’s better fit.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESLara Croft works for a bicycle delivery service in London while struggling to accept that her father disappeared seven years earlier. When a hidden message leads her to his secret research, Lara follows his trail to an isolated island.
There, she searches for the tomb of an ancient Japanese princess said to possess deadly powers. With help from a young Hong Kong boat owner, Lara faces gun-toting agents, dangerous terrain, and a mystery that could change her destiny.
Is It Any Good?
Four stars means this is a highly entertaining, well-crafted adventure. TOMB RAIDER moves with energy, and its action is exhilarating. Alicia Vikander gives Lara a spunky, charming presence while also making her tough, smart, and capable.
The strongest creative choice is the father-daughter relationship. Lara and her father receive a sweet, very touching story that gives the adventure emotional weight and a strong moral foundation. The film’s thrills and its heart work together unusually well.
The Worldview
TOMB RAIDER has a very strong moral worldview centered on the relationship between Lara and her father. Their bond, his love for her, and their shared struggle give the movie a redemptive element. Lara and her father also work to save the world from dangerous people.
The story includes references to an ancient Japanese princess with dark occult powers, along with brief references to the supernatural, magical powers, and an afterlife. However, occultism is not endorsed. The movie contains no false theology or religion, paganism, or endorsement of occult powers, though it also has no overt Christian content.
The film’s central longing is familial love and reunion. Scripture uses that kind of tenderness to help us understand God’s care: “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him” (Psalm 103:13).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements
Very strong moral worldview centering on a strong father-daughter story, with some redemptive elements, and references to the legend of an ancient Japanese princess with dark occult powers, but occultism is not endorsed
Foul Language
Eight obscenities, villain says GD once, no light profanities, and character appears to mouth the “f” word
Violence
Lots of strong and light action violence includes a bicycle race through city streets where riders fall, and one rider runs into a police car, young woman chases thieves, thieves threatened with a rifle, a huge storm at sea, evil men with machine guns force people to work for them on an isolated island and threaten the heroine and her friend, heroine knocked out, heroine engages in hand to hand combat with man, heroine gets a wooden sliver stuck in her stomach, and she has to be stitched up, people fall to their deaths, scary images of skeletons, several people get sick and die, explosions, heroine survives a fall into raging waters and must survive a huge falls, heroine hangs by a thread in several scenes, heroine fires arrows at bad guys and hits several of them, good guys shoot back against their captors with guns, and several people are shot, narrow escapes, two women do mixed martial arts boxing in a gym and one woman has to tap out after being held in a headlock
Sex
No sexual content
Nudity
No nudity (young woman wears a colored sport T-shirt but nothing revealing is really shown)
Alcohol Use
No alcohol use, but man is said to be drunk again but actually seems to be suffering a hangover
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse
No smoking or drugs;
Miscellaneous Immorality
Men have been kidnapped and put to work, good guys and bad guys are on a treasure hunt, thief takes woman’s bag, but she gets it back, and father leaves daughter and disappears.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Lara refuses to accept her father’s disappearance. How can love help us persevere without making us unable to face the truth?
1 Corinthians 13:7 · Psalm 27:14Lara uses courage and intelligence when danger closes in. What is the difference between biblical courage and recklessness?
Joshua 1:9 · Proverbs 14:16The story includes claims about supernatural powers and an afterlife without endorsing occultism. How should Christians test ideas presented in entertainment?
1 Thessalonians 5:21–22 · Philippians 4:8The father-daughter relationship gives the adventure its emotional center. What does Scripture teach about a father’s compassion and responsibility?
Psalm 103:13 · Ephesians 6:4The Final Word
TOMB RAIDER offers exciting action, a charming heroine, and a genuinely touching father-daughter story. Its language, intense violence, and brief mythological references call for parental discernment, especially with younger children. For middle schoolers and up, it is WORTH THE TRIP — MIDDLE SCHOOL AND UP.
