TV Series Review: Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft – Season One (2024)

As strong as the recent glut of video game to live action adaptions have been, there’s a strong argument that the best of this stuff comes from the animated world. With no higher sign of quality than Castlevania and Castlevania: Nocturne, and while there were high hopes that Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft could be as strong as both of those shows, it simply isn’t, but that doesn’t mean it’s not enjoyable.

Based on the iconic Tomb Raider video game series by Crystal Dynamics, this show takes place after the Tomb Raider reboot trilogy (Tomb Raider – 2013, Rise of the Tomb Raider – 2015, Shadow of the Tomb Raider – 2018) and serves to fill the gap in the timeline, bridging the reboot trilogy to the original series of games.

Even if you’re not a fan of the reboot trilogy or the original series of games, chances are you have played one in your lifetime. We all certainly know who Lara Croft is, even if many still see her as sex symbol of the late 90s (don’t ask, it was a weird time). She is more of an icon than the games, to be fair, and has been previously immortalised in film as Angelina Jolie played her in two live action films (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – 2001 and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life – 2003) before Alicia Vikander took on the role in 2018 in an adaption of the rebooted 2013 Tomb Raider.

It is this version of Lara Croft that continues to be explored in this eight-part series, that sees Tasha Huo serving as showrunner with Legendary Television and DJ2 Entertainment producing, and animation that comes from Powerhouse Animation Studios.

Premiering on Netflix in October 2024, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft stars Hayley Atwell as the voice of Lara Croft, struggling to come to terms with her loss, in particular, that of her mentor Conrad Roth (voiced by Nolan North). His death on the island of Yamatai (the first reboot game) reopened wounds in her related to the death of her father, and now she shuns her surviving friends while running away from the Croft name and what it demands.

Her past is going to catch up with her though and she is going to have to deal with her loss, not just to bring balance to herself, but to bring balance to the world. You see, there are ancient artefacts from Chinese mythology that have the power to create chaos, and a mercenary named Charles Devereaux (voiced by Richard Armitage) is trying to get hold of them. If he does, he will be granted immeasurable power that he can use to destroy an ancient and mysterious order named ‘The Light’, who he blames for murdering his father.

The links between his quest and Lara’s quest to destroy Trinity are clear for all to see, but with one big difference. Lara has people she trusts around her, people who love her and want to help her, provided she’s willing to let them. This, alongside the overarching fantastical adventure, is what Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft is about. Bringing back video game characters like Jonah (voiced by Earl Baylon) and Abby (voiced by Roxana Ortega), as well as bringing in new, and entertaining, characters like Zip (voiced by Allen Maldonado) and Camilla Roth (Zoe Boyle).

The latter of the two proves to be a much more significant character as far as Lara Croft development goes too. Not just because they grew up together, but because their separation was an early loss that Lara suffered and the show hints that their relationship might be that they’re more than just good friends. A gay/bisexual Lara Croft? That’s interesting and an area you can certainly see was explored to some degree (albeit from a more titillating place) in other Tomb Raider material. It certainly results in some of the most romantically charged scenes seen in a Tomb Raider property for some time.

It’s just a shame that this, like so much in this show, feels so rushed. There’s a clear desire to tell and wrap up a huge adventure in eight short episodes while also writing about deeper human emotions and connecting all of this to the games that came before and the games that will come after in this timeline. It is a bit of surprise that it turned out so well, even if moves at such a frantic pace, some of the important detail is lost.

Not when it comes to Croft though. Thanks to the reboot trilogy, this Lara has definition already and the show starts to add meat to the bones of her character. Helped immensely by Hayley Atwell’s voice acting. Giving Lara vulnerability, while retaining that adventurous and cocky demeanour we all know and love. This is a great showcase of Lara Croft, and the show does a great job of creating the path towards who she will become.

She’s about it though, and many of the other characters lack ‘oomph’, most notably, the villain of the show, Charles Devereaux. Richard Armitage is a fantastic actor, and he is great in this role too, but as the show goes on his character devolves to such a basic level, that it starts to become laughable. The nuance around his character is lost in favour of being the ‘big baddie’ to be taken down, and in this show, that is literal. Seeing who and what he becomes is so disappointing as it really felt like his character could have been so much more.

Again, it’s not enough to ruin the show, but it, alongside so many hurried moments, does leave a taste of disappointment in the mouth. Thankfully, when it comes to the animation and the fun action-adventure aspects of Tomb Raider, the show delivers. Giving us sharp and creative imagery that moves in exhilarating fashion while ensuring we also get a globe-trotting story that allows the real world to blend with the fantastical. You can see and feel the game within the show, and for long-term Tomb Raider fans, that will be more than enough.

That T-Rex bit was pretty dumb though, wasn’t it?

It’s good, it’s not Castlevania good, but it’s good. With a second season now confirmed, fingers crossed the show can slow down and tell a more measured story with a more impactful villain next time around.