This series is suppose to take place in the Survivor Timeline aka the most grounded and realistic continuity of the Tomb Raider series. Is there a lot of over the top elements, yes but for the most part, by the standards of games and Tomb Raider in general the action in these games are mostly grounded in reality. But in this trailer alone, we see-
Lara running on Lava
Pulling a Blade Whip move
Apparently Jumping from a Bike onto a Moving Train and jumping what seems to be Miles into the Air
And Catching a Shotgun and Loading a Shot while jumping through the Air
This is more like something I would expect to see in an Anime of The Fast and the Furious or the older Tomb Raider Games but NOT the Survivor Timeline. Also the dialogue from whom I assume to be the main antagonist... bugs me.
"Danger is your friend. How Much Longer can you Persevere."
I don't know why this bugs me it just does though if I had to guess it's because of the Reboots obsessive need to try and discard it's own identity and instead try to become the Classic Timeline.
Like, just the way Lara is presented in this trailer reminds me of the Lara Croft from Angelina Jolie movie. Don't get me wrong I love that movie but that's not the Lara from the Survivor Timeline. That Lara is the most human version of the character, the one who didn't seek out danger, the one who hated what she became because of the life she was now living.
I've been writing up my own Tomb Raider series which set in the ST continuity and in that I've been working into delving into Lara's obsessive need to now seek out dangerous situations and how that mindset is harmful to her mental well-being and how it hurts those close to her. You know, what Rhianna Pratchett WANTED to explore before Crystal Dynamics got cold feat and ordered her to town down the character development because "Lara Croft isn't weak enough to suffer PTSD!" (Not a joke BTW they actually said that).
And with comments that this game will be yet another attempt to tie the ST and CT together even though they don't fit because LARA'S PARENTS ARE ALIVE IN THE CLASSIC TIMELINE!!! Seriously how is it that everyone from fans to people working on the series post Pratchett keep insisting that the ST works as a prequel when Lara's parents being alive in one and DEAD in another obviously DON'T FIT TOGETHER?!?!
It's honestly the biggest problem with this continuity, when it's trying to be what Pratchett and later Gail Simone and other comic writers were trying to make it, a series that delves into what going through a traumatic event would do to someone, it's great. But the other two games and now apparently this new series is trying to disregard that because "Oh, no. Lara Croft isn't weak! We need to show her JUST being a badass with no real depth or character!"
(sigh) Also, and this is like 99.99% a coincidence, I can't help but notice that this is delving into Chinese Mythology... just like MY series is. And is animated and is more of a globe-trotting adventure... just like my series. Again, most likely a coincidence but I had talked about my ideas a full 2 years before this series was even announced I'm allowed to give it a raised eyebrow at the very least.
Though in my version Jonah is completely absent, Sam is a major focus, the action scenes are more grounded and the world is not actually in danger because no one cares about the world being in danger in fiction because 9 times out of 10 the world is going to be saved so there's nothing to get worked up over.
In fact most of my story subverts a lot of the Adventurer Archaeologist trope or, more accurately, brings the trope back to it's roots that the Adventurous Archaeologist is not as important to the story and that things wouldn't have been that much different if they hadn't gotten involved. The main theme is the nature of obsession and how trying to ignore trauma will only make it worse and that the only way to survive it is to face it and see the good of the past and to find hope in the future.
The biggest subversion of my story is that the ancient evil that has been sealed away that is so terrible is actually a force for good betrayed by the same evil that hurt Lara and Sam to begin with and that instead of trying to destroy it Lara and Sam must help free it. It's meant as a metaphor for Lara and Sam's trauma, they think what is being sought after is dangerous and will destroy the world but instead it's something that can help them heal and embrace the world anew.
This is reflected in the subtitle, Scars of the Survivors. A title that has several meanings, that those who survived have been marked by these terrible events but at the same time they have healed, they survived and even though those scars will remind them of those terrible events they still survived. And frankly I think it's a better title the The Legend of Lara Croft which just seems so lazy to me though I obviously have a bias here.
But yeah, the most I learn about this series the less enthusiastic I get. At most I'm hoping that Sam at least appears and that she and Lara rebuild their relationship (and maybe, you know, GET TOGETHER ROMANTICALLY!!!!!). But even that I'm unsure of as again, it seems to be trying to make Lara more of a, well, Legend and less of a person.
I'm still going to work on my own series and come hell or high water I will get it published either as a animated series or as it's own game. And I will say that I don't wish the Netflix series ill or that it fails and hope that it sees success. Especially since this is Netflix which has a bad habit of cancelling series for random or bizarre reasons... assuming they even have any to begin with because seriously some times they seem to just can entire franchises that was bringing in more money then it cost to make and they've done so because "No Reason."
But yeah,m not liking what I'm seeing, going to keep working on my own project, wish me luck and to those who are looking forward to the Netflix show, I hope you enjoy it and I will check it out myself and will gladly eat crow if I find I like or even love it.
