If you're thinking about checking out the latest Tomb Raider feature this weekend, here are a few things to keep in mind: Alicia Vikander absolutely carries the movie, it's one of the best big-screen video game adaptations in existence, and despite being a rather paint-by-numbers action flick, it's serviceable for folks looking for a mindless, run-and-gun, tomb-raidin' adventure. It's especially entertaining if this is the first time you're seeing an action movie in the theater, which is a real possibility for the younger moviegoers out there who might find a heroine to root for in Vikander's capable Lara Croft. (You can also read Matt Goldberg's review here for another perspective, though my own take is a little sunnier.)

Even if you haven't played each and every Tomb Raider game since the franchise's debut back in 1996, or its more modern reboot in 2013, and even if you haven't seen the Angelina Jolie versions of the story in the 2001 and 2003 features, the story of Roar Uthaug's film is quite easy to follow. The only thing that might bring you up a bit short is Tomb Raider's ending, both from the point of view of a curious character twist for Lara Croft herself and that of a plot twist that, the studio hopes, could be the spark that ignites a feature franchise for the title character. We'll get into spoilers from here on out as we discuss the ending of Tomb Raider, so reader beware.

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Image via Warner Bros.

In order to understand where Lara Croft ends up at the film's conclusion, it's important to know where she starts in this picture. Surprisingly, we're introduced to Lara as a bike messenger in London, a down-on-her-luck young adult who's struggling to make ends meet in the modern world. This is a two-fold twist on the typical version of Lara we're used to. Though her origin stories have changed quite a bit over the last 20 years or so, Lara is often the daughter of an aristocratic family and is orphaned in a variety of ways: plane crash, mysterious disappearances during archaeological expeditions, and presumed suicides. The twist here is most similar to the latest iteration of Lara's early life that sees her opting to forgo her inheritance and easy-going lifestyle in order to pay her way and really experience life. The secondary twist is that moviegoers get to see Lara participate in a surprisingly fun bit of sport with her fellow bike messengers that feels more like a spiritual sequel to Premium Rush than an aspect of Tomb Raider, but it was delightful.

Unfortunately, Lara's story takes a turn for the dark and dismal from here on out. Going in search for her long-lost father--and before officially signing his death certificate which would grant her inheritance but also cement his death in her mind--she inevitably stumbles across an ancient organization with terroristic tendencies that hopes to use her father's research as a means toward carrying out atrocities all over the world. It's standard villainous fare. The "weapon" in question that the organization, named Trinity, is looking for is the corpse of the mystical Lady Himiko, a queen of death. While I applaud Tomb Raider for keeping this plot grounded in science and biology rather than the supernatural (ie, revealing the "mummy's curse" as a pathogenic wasting disease rather than an avenging spirit), it's all pretty predictable. But what's less clear, and what bears explanation here, is the shift in character for Lara and her revelation at the movie's end.

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Image via Warner Bros.

Throughout the course of this adventure, Lara uses her athleticism, fighting skills, and archery expertise in order to subdue mercenaries and defeat the major antagonist, played with cold, calculated precision by Walton Goggins. Vikander's slight size and stature is honestly represented on screen as her version of Lara is forced to use her entire body to take out would-be assailants, at least until she upgrades to a bow and arrow and, later, her famous climbing axe. Uthaug even takes the time to let Vikander's Croft come to grips with the first death (by execution) she sees on the island, and the first death of a man by her own hands; that's rare in action fare. So despite never picking up a gun for the entire film, her decision to buy not one but two massive "9mm with extended mag" pistols at the movie's end is more in service to the classic Lara Croft from the video games than anything inherent to this movie's take on the mythology. It's fan service, nothing more.

As for Croft's revelation of the identity of Trinity's leader, the person who was in contact with Goggins' Mathias Vogel throughout the picture and for years before its events, that's a little trickier. The disappearance of Lara's father, his imprisonment on the island, and the fate/control of his entire estate, actually rests with one person: Kristin Scott Thomas' Ana Miller. Introduced as a stern but caring guardian for Lara early on, it's revealed that Miller's machinations have been steering Lara toward giving up power of attorney and total control over the Croft family's many, many business interests. Lara happens upon that realization too late to do anything about it, but the movie closes with her understanding that Miller is not only responsible for all the trouble to assail the Croft family, but for causing death and devastation all over the world. Trinity's ultimate plans will make the slavery and executions carried out on the island look like child's play. This, my friends, is the perfect setup for a future feature franchise for Tomb Raider, should that be in the cards.

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Image via Warner Bros.

Personally, I'd be up for another Tomb Raider adventure led by Vikander, assuming the very 90s action movie plot gets punched up to something respectable alongside contemporaries like Wonder Woman and Mad Max: Fury Road. We'll find out how audiences respond this weekend, but you can let us know your thoughts in the comments!

For more on Tomb Raider, be sure to check these links out:

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Image via Warner Bros.