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-   -   A Plea to GK Films - The fan recipe to a successful TR Movie! (https://www.tombraiderforums.com/showthread.php?t=222629)

ccroft2003 15-04-19 07:15

A Plea to GK Films - The fan recipe to a successful TR Movie!
 
I thought I'd start this thread to discuss what we (as fans) perceive TR to be and what we believe would make a successful Tomb Raider movie.

This is to try and sum up to the new writer, Amy Jump what we want to see and what would compete with the crowded world of superhero movies.

My recipe for a successful TR movie is this:

1. A witty, cocky Lara (from the classics) with a no-fear, no **** attitude that makes mistakes but learns from them. A Lara that does what she wants to do and is not following in her father's footsteps... We've seen the "weak, inexperienced Lara" and no-one (main cinema goers) cares about her!!!

2. A female antagonist that's Lara's equal to intellectually that you really feel is a danger. Bore-off with the male bad-guys.

3. Multiple exotic, global locations to keep viewers entertained. Don't bore us with one drabby location like Yamatai in the last movie. The 2001 movie smashed this with Cambodia, Venice, England and Siberia. Make us feel we're on a journey.

4. DUEL PISTOLS! Give us some action. Hell, throw in some rocket launchers!

5. Fantasy elements - TR has ALWAYS been about this. Merge a fantasy element within a real, believable world. How awesome would it be to see a "Lost Valley" with T-REX from the 1st game?

6. Pay homage to the games but DON'T STICK TO THEM! They're far too complex to translate fully for a movie, pave a new path.

andre_costa 15-04-19 09:26

For me that's pretty much all of this ^
Especially number 1,4 and 5:D

EDIT: OH, yeah... And no love interests

PaNtHERA 15-04-19 11:14

Mind games.

I want to feel that Lara is very clever person. We are actively involved in games while solving puzzles . But we're in the passive position as a audience when we are watching a movie. Lara may have solved karakuri in first movie. But watching this did not give me much pleasure.
Instead, I want a screenplay that we'll be trying to solve the puzzle or situation when we are sitting on chairs then suprise and admire Lara's intelligence. One of the things makes Joker unforgettable at The Dark Knight was his mind games. But Lara Croft is not Sherlock Holmes, so this mind games should be fit for the Tomb Raider. It should stand behind archeology and action advanture.

And DUAL Pistolss:jmp:

Ellioft 16-04-19 19:34

My grain of salt:


Acknowledge everything that happen in the first movie: Made the characters talking about Matthias or Yamatai or Croft Holdings it's important to keep a consistency.

Made a great female villain: Matthias wasn't really imposing but because he was just an employer from Trinity, a goon, if you prefer. The first one was easy to defeat, Ana need to be difficult. More scenes with the villain. The screenwriter need to make her intriguing with a solid backstory and give her good reasons to be a part of Trinity. They need to make her manipulative, a true mastermind but maybe not the ultimate villain.



Trinity: Here's a huge thing to make it work: The organisation needs to be fleshed out more than the games. It's maybe be difficult but not impossible, they need to have an imagery the audience can recall, from the outfit to their history etc. We need to see them doing something.

Flashbacks: Don't hesitate to use them especially if it's for showing legends that happen or Trinity following Richard Croft or Ana past and sneaking into the family.

Lara/Ana: More flashbacks showcasing their relationship before.

Croft Manor : It's the symbol of Lara family. He needs to come back entirely (even if it's for flashbacks of Lara's childhood).

Croft Holdings: Need to be fleshed out (as Graham promised) reuse Dereck Jacobi.

Lara : She needs to be full aware of what happen, give her a good reason to fight Trinity other than family drama. I want Lara to be confident and smart, using the duals, ice picks or bow when it's needed. Show her interest in history and archeology (a simple scene when she reads several books and building a board could work).

Action : Of course I want some action, but it doesn't need to be directly straight out the videogame don't be afraid to be creative with it and make at least one vehicle chase (motorbike).

Supernatural : As Alicia promised (the mystical door being open) I want it to be the next step of Lara's evolution as a character, facing something she didn't expect at all (don't need to bring dinosors into this) make the task more difficult and be creative.

Locations : Three different locations + Croft Manor but make the journey seems longer make various scene in the location not just one big set like in Hong Kong.

Richard Croft : Outside of a reference or flashback I don't want the character to be present.

Lu Ren : He can come back if he his interesting enough.

Tombs : They need to be fresh and big and I know it's not gonna be simple if there's at least three tombs it's gonna be enough.

Side characters : More female characters but who are usefull to the story.

Editing : One editor please and take time to show the characters talking.

Story : They can use the story from Rise but doesn't need to be a proper copy and paste for exemple adding a surprise element like a third new location will be great.

Lenght : More than 2h10 please

Ending and climax : Give us a climax way more powerfull and an unexpected ending.

Iconisation : Now he origin story is done and the character is introduced we need an iconisation of the character with some powerfull moments.

Portugalraider 16-04-19 21:28

Okay here is my take for a "recipe for success":
[LIST][*]Don't commit the Reboot Trilogy mistake: her origin story was the first movie. That is done. Don't drag that concept for more than one movie. Even if this is still early on Lara's life, she already had her origins. So let her be a proper adventurer this time.[*]Maintain the tone of the first movie. It was serious when it needed to be, but also fun and exciting when needed as well. It was perfect. What the movie needs to be more "commercially attractive" is something else.[*]Have Lara recognisable as Lara Croft. And I don't mean "just give her a braid and duals". This is still more based in reboot Lara, so I think that being properly geared up should also be part of the look. Definitely give Lara the duals (after the ending of the first one, Lara definitely needs to have them), but also her axes and her even bow and arrow. The necklace as a personal touch. Braid or Ponytail I am ambivalent really, they all are "Lara Croft" to me. Maybe both styles like in CoL.[*]Go big on scope. This is what audiences want: big, exciting adventures. The 2018 movie felt too small, even if it happen in a whole island. And the 94 M budget is enough to make something big in scope. Even a smaller, but properly used budget can be. Make things interesting and exciting to watch, and people will want to watch it.[*]Have complex characters and character relations. Ana should be the main antagonist of the new movie, but she shouldn't be just a evil villain. It would be far more interesting to have both her and Lara still have mixed feelings towards each other.

Lara is absolutely right to hate and wanting to take down this woman who used her for nefarious deeds, but she still is the woman who raised, and raised her well after Richard's disappearance. Ana would of course be annoyed to have this kid trying to undermine her entire operation, especially if she is doing everything to save her life like in RotTR, but still, she had to watch her grow for 7 year, she feels attached to Lara.

A relation like this would already make for a much compelling dramatic conflict that connects the action of the movie. And much better than "girl misses daddy" from the first one.

And of course, extend that to every other character in the movie. Lu Ren feels like he owns Lara a favour, but maybe he is not fully confortable with this sort of life. Or maybe he is, but he is just reluctant to change. Again, if we follow RotTR, Konstantin could have a deep internal conflict between being 100% faithful to Trinity and saving his sister life. Jacob (or Sofia, if we go for a more feminist route) could be too thorn from giving up his powers and immortality to save his people, because he feels that it is those powers who allow him to save and help them.

And complex characters sell, especially complex villains. It is part of the success (especially critically) of Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity Wars. And a movie like Tomb Raider definitely needs critics behind it to succeed.
[*]Most importantly: regardless of being a faithful adaptation of the games, of being just loosely based like the 2018 movie, or being a completely original story like the AJ movies, this movie [B]absolutely needs[/B] a well written, well plotted script, with good dialogue and interesting story. It was the one thing that was missing from the 2018 movie to make in not just okay but actually good. And if Alicia and the rest of the cast made such a good job with a mediocre script, imagine with something actually good! Everything else, besides scope, was pretty much nailed in the 2018 movie. It just needed that extra touch to be at least a less "polarizing" and more well regarded movie.[/LIST]

Melonie Tomb Raider 17-04-19 21:15

Thousand percent agree with OP on this.

I think the first movie already did amazing on Lara's personality, she was very classic-like. Just to sum up what I want quickly without getting too wordy:

1. Leave Lara's parental drama in the past, no more mention of mum or dad

2. Keep it up with the witty and rebellious personality Lara had in the first movie

3. Dual pistols are a must

4. Go big or go home with fantastical stuff, give us dinosaurs, mummies, or ancient gods

5. Keep human enemies to a minimum, it's more fun to watch Lara shooting dinos

6. Don't focus too much on companions. Lu Ren was done well and didn't hold Lara back, and he also wasn't at her side 24/7. Keep it that way, he can help her here and there but for the most part, the only companion Lara needs are her dual pistols and her motorcycle

7. No love story. The community all view Lara's sexuality differently, many of us view her as asexual even, so let that stay with the viewer's imagination and don't go there. Not every attractive female lead needs a love story

8. Create a brand new adventure, no more being limited to a specific game story

PinkyPromise 18-04-19 11:40

[QUOTE=ccroft2003;8073959]I thought I'd start this thread to discuss what we (as fans) perceive TR to be and what we believe would make a successful Tomb Raider movie.

This is to try and sum up to the new writer, Amy Jump what we want to see and what would compete with the crowded world of superhero movies.

My recipe for a successful TR movie is this:

1. A witty, cocky Lara (from the classics) with a no-fear, no **** attitude that makes mistakes but learns from them. A Lara that does what she wants to do and is not following in her father's footsteps... We've seen the "weak, inexperienced Lara" and no-one (main cinema goers) cares about her!!!

2. A female antagonist that's Lara's equal to intellectually that you really feel is a danger. Bore-off with the male bad-guys.

3. Multiple exotic, global locations to keep viewers entertained. Don't bore us with one drabby location like Yamatai in the last movie. The 2001 movie smashed this with Cambodia, Venice, England and Siberia. Make us feel we're on a journey.

4. DUEL PISTOLS! Give us some action. Hell, throw in some rocket launchers!

5. Fantasy elements - TR has ALWAYS been about this. Merge a fantasy element within a real, believable world. How awesome would it be to see a "Lost Valley" with T-REX from the 1st game?

6. Pay homage to the games but DON'T STICK TO THEM! They're far too complex to translate fully for a movie, pave a new path.[/QUOTE]

+ 1

ccroft2003 18-04-19 12:29

I actually believe that the outline story from TRIII would make a good film, that could mix with Rise and the 2018 movie...?

Comet falls to earth made of an unknown/not-of-this-earth element that when you come in to contact with, transforms that person (there could be creative flexibility here) into something else (maybe with powers??). It could even transform animals.... bears/crocodiles/monkeys! Ancient humans carved the broken up stone into precious, spiritual/ceremonial artefacts all over the earth and they remain undiscovered.

Ana becomes/takes the place of Sophia Lee and Trinity replaces RX Tech.

The film starts with the HMS Beagle and the ship being stuck in the ice. They're forced to explore land for food but come across a meteorite site and unexplored ancient ruins.

Cut to modern time, a team of archaeologists are excavating a the meteorite crash site and find said carved artefact next to the human remains of a crew member of the HMS Beagle.

Story continues to follow Lara chasing Ana and Trinity around the globe (India, Antarctica and South Pacific) to stop them from locating the artefacts and using them.

Portugalraider 18-04-19 12:39

Sorry, and I hate to say this because it is my 2nd favourite game in the franchise, but a Tomb Raider III adaptation would be the worst idea ever. That game doesn't have a good plot at all!

If any classic could be adapted for the new movie it would be TRII or TLR: just substitute Bartoli and the Fiamma Neaa or Von Croy and his hired goons with Ana and Trinity, and you could have setting interesting.

Still, if adapting games, I prefer if they stick to loose adaptations of the reboot games. But as long as we get a good story with a good script, I'll accept anything, really :p

PinkyPromise 18-04-19 13:26

TR2 has the best for a great summer adventure: China, Venecia persecutions, Underwater adventures with sharks, The Tibet and the Yetis ... simply replacing Fiamma Nera with Trinity.


Of course, my dream would be to see the plot of TR1 on the big screen: Vilcabamba, lost valley, TREX, Scion, San Francis, Natla ... it's so iconic. I never understood why they did not adapt this with Angelina instead of doing things like "The cradle of life


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