Movie review
March 5, 2018 · 118 min · PG-13
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Tomb Raider (2018) is an action-adventure origin story about young Lara Croft. She rejects her rich family life, works as a bike messenger, and travels to a dangerous Pacific island to find her missing father. She faces deadly traps, mercenaries, and ancient supernatural forces while learning survival skills and reconciling with her past. The film delivers standard genre thrills centered on personal resilience and family bonds with no visible modern identity politics, activist dialogue, or social-justice messaging.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Tomb Raider.
Woke representation / casting
Alicia Vikander, a white Swedish actress, plays the canonically white British Lara Croft with a trained athletic build that fits the established character; no diversity signaling, quotas, or identity-focused announcements in marketing or coverage.
Woke political dialogue
No explicit political speeches, activist rhetoric, or commentary on current social issues appear in the screenplay or final cut.
Identity-driven story themes
Lara's journey centers on personal growth, rejecting family wealth, and self-definition through adventure and father reconciliation; these remain individual character themes without group identity politics or social movements.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Antagonists are generic corporate mercenaries and a shady organization exploiting artifacts for power; presented as straightforward villainy with no modern activist framing of capitalism, patriarchy, or Western institutions.
Woke character or canon changes
Minor plot adjustments from the source games for film pacing and family drama emphasis; no public discussion of ideological or identity-driven motivations behind the changes.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
No significant social media campaigns, articles, or public complaints accused the film of pushing woke, DEI, or left-wing identity messaging.
Creator track record context
Most key creatives show low political profiles and genre-focused careers; one co-writer has credits on a historical project examining racial activism, providing limited supporting context.
Production
