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Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: A few years after winning an Academy Award for best supporting actress, a rising star makes the leap to above-the-title action heroine as Lara Croft from the video game “Tomb Raider.” In 2001, it was Angelina Jolie (“Girl, Interrupted”), and now it’s Alicia Vikander (“The Danish Girl”).
The first trailer for the reboot, set for release next year, doesn’t make the new film look all that different from the original: There are a lot of shots of Lara in a tank top, running, jumping and packing heat.
It’s also reminiscent of last year’s box-office disappointment, “Assassin’s Creed,” starring Ms. Vikander’s real-life love interest, Michael Fassbender. That was also based on a video game and featured an overqualified supporting cast. In this case, it’s Dominic West (as Lara’s long-lost father, a role previously played by Ms. Jolie’s real dad, Jon Voight), Walton Goggins and Kristin Scott Thomas.
Sixteen years ago, a female-fronted action movie still qualified as a novelty, but by the time Ms. Jolie did the sequel, “Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life” in 2003, the thrill was gone. It remains to be seen if Ms. Vikander will be able to kick off a franchise, but the trailer’s tagline certainly sounds hopeful: “Her Legend Begins.”
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