Is the entity a villain? Not exactly. The film smartly avoids making it a standard monster. It’s more like a force of nature: cold, fair, and terrifying. In the final confrontation, Lara doesn’t kill it. She negotiates with it by offering a memory she’s willing to lose. That’s bold, poetic, and very un-Croft-like—but it works.
In the latest chapter of the rebooted Tomb Raider saga, Lara Croft in The Gatekeeper attempts to blend the gritty, survivalist tone of the 2018 film with high-concept supernatural horror. Directed by Misha Green (known for Lovecraft Country ), this standalone adventure pits a more seasoned Lara against an ancient order protecting a dimensional threshold known as “The Gate.” lara croft in the gatekeeper
Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5/5)
After a cryptic artifact surfaces in a black-market auction in Istanbul, Lara tracks it to a forgotten monastery in the Carpathian Mountains. There, she discovers that “The Gatekeeper” is not a person, but a living curse—a being of shadow and geometry that guards a doorway to a plane of chaotic “anti-memory.” If opened, reality rewrites itself. Lara must solve the monastery’s Escher-like puzzles before a rogue paramilitary cult (led by a surprisingly menacing Claes Bang) forces the Gate open. Is the entity a villain
The mirror corridor sequence. The final 10 minutes (stay through the silent credits for a chilling audio cue). Skip it if: You dislike slow-burn horror or metaphysical endings. It’s more like a force of nature: cold,
The film’s first hour is a tight, claustrophobic puzzle-box thriller. The final act, however, becomes overstuffed. The explanation of “anti-memory” relies on dense exposition delivered via holographic recordings (a tired trope). Some may love the cosmic-horror turn; others will miss the simpler tombs of Tomb Raider (2018).
Also, while Vikander is excellent, Lara’s emotional arc—grief turning into acceptance—feels rushed. One key monologue about “choosing to be the door, not the key” lands awkwardly.