Still, nothing changes with the economy of desire...
For some gamers, Lara Croft’s bust is important.
Surprise, Lara Croft is unfortunately reduced to cup-size objectification of the male gaze, but the nuances are interesting for analysis, despite the usual questions of why bother doing a reboot. But why question the fundamental risk-aversion of media executives, they only wind up in government (Mnuchin) or in ignominy (Weinstein).
The latest version is more about being a star vehicle than anything else, and the writing may have been as much of a burden as the historical context of media promotion. It also raises questions about the attempt to market a new video game on the same character. But genre ever remains a commodity.
Although born and raised at the swanky Croft Manor, when we first meet Lara she is scraping by, studying MMA fighting, when she can afford the gym fees, and delivering food via bicycle.
Unlike Jolie’s iconic, stylized take on the character, Vikander plays her as self assured and independent but directionless. A young person trying to make her way in the world, thirsty for life experience. It’s a nice reinvention of the character, although a post credit scene suggests she is headed toward Jolie territory should there be a “Tomb Raider 2: A Career in Ruins” next year. Still, she’s a spirited female action hero in a male dominated field.
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She has done some great roles, more notably in The Danish Girl, for which she won an Oscar and Jason Bourne.
Lara Croft, the star of the Tomb Raider game series, has been known not just for her daring and athleticism, but also for her status as a video game sex symbol with a sizable bust.
We now have a new version of Croft for the movie reboot "Tomb Raider," which serves as the character's origin story. Star Alicia Vikander doesn't exactly fit into the big-breast mold of the original character, which Angelina Jolie originated for the big-screen role in 2001, and that's brought out the worst in some online trolls.
Twitter is home to a series of rude comments about her breasts being too small for the character, led by a Twitter user called Amazing Atheist Guy. The London Evening Standard notes the Twitter account belongs to YouTube user TJ Kirk, who also posted a video titled "Lara Croft's b00bz - The Issue Of The Century."
A 2008 IGN look into Tomb Raider history revealed Croft's original breast size was an accident that ended up making it into the finalized game. The character's look has changed over the years, with recent games giving her more practical clothing, a more realistic waist and a smaller bust.
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Gamergaters complaining about breast size are as numerous as hand lotion preferences, but then again this genre is probably always a Stormy Daniels realm, considering how mundane and contradictory some preferences are (see 45* issues with “natural” womens breasts).
And in the now dominant Wonder Woman context, “not enough powerful women” is fairly genre-specific when considering the original source and of course the nature of a gendered audience.
Tomb Raider is, of course, not alone in this regard. It’s also one of the few action-film franchises anchored by a female star in the first place. (The previous iteration starred Angelina Jolie as the titular adventurer.) Vikander’s version of Croft is at least less hyper-sexualized, like the latest version of Croft in the Tomb Raider video games. We suppose that is a small win in and of itself. In a previous interview with Graham Norton, the actress poked fun at the original game:
“My breasts are not as pointy as the first one,” she joked, comparing the film poster to an original still of the very triangular original game. A little win, then—but if there’s a sequel, we know what Vikander will be gunning for next.
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I think I may have played the original game once, but CGI has always had issues with its “reality”, even as definition has improved and we’re closer to an optimal augmented(sic) reality delivery system, IMAX notwithstanding. And the only interesting sequence in the original movie was the assault on her estate with the music video soundtrack. Both original movies were always about daddy issues, sadly, wealth gets gendered.
Because it still is about the narrative, even in game play. And the rest are details like the weapons, which of course in the adverts is about bow weapons and not firearms. No one gets shot with a gun by Lara in the 2018 version.
Lara Croft (Alicia Vikander) handles a pair of Heckler & Koch USP Match pistols similar to the ones carried by Angelina Jolie in the first two films. Like the original film, these pistols have stainless steel slides, ambidextrous controls, and H&K JetFunnels (extended flared magazine wells).
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