With its latest debut, Warner Brothers broke the streak of poorly received video game cinematic adaptations that has been growing since the ‘90s with the release of “Tomb Raider” on Friday, March 16.

The nearly two-hour action packed adaptation features Lara Croft (Alicia Vikander) beginning her journey to become the adventurer fans know and love. Also among the cast is professional Viggo Mortensen impersonator Walton Goggins, martial artist and young Jackie Chan look-a-like Daniel Wu, “Punisher: War Zone” and “The Wire” star Dominic West and “Darkest Hour” star Kristin Scott Thomas.

As any adapted screenplay eventually is, “Tomb Raider” will no doubt be compared to its source material. What fans will find is that the movie follows the 2013 video game it is based on quite religiously, with the details of the plot being nearly identical; the only major difference is the characters who make up the main cast.

Being an action/adventure film set on a mythical island, “Tomb Raider” has heavy reliance on CGI for some of its more intense action sequences. While in the hands of lesser companies, this could have been disastrous and ruined an amazing adaptation. Fortunately, the diligent workers at Warner Brothers special effects department managed to make any computer generations flawlessly interact with more practical elements and sets.

“Tomb Raider” as a video game franchise is known for its action/adventure gameplay, and the 2013 game in particular is incredibly popular for its suspenseful moments and its quick-time events, which are captured perfectly in this adaptation. Jittery camera movements and close-up shots of Vikander mimics and possibly outshines the camera movements and angles used in-game. The way the camera follows Vikander through intense action sequences makes it feel as if Warner Brothers and Square Enix are trying to make a video game rather than a movie, and with video game adaptations like these, that is how it should be.

One of the few flaws of “Tomb Raider” comes from a single scene. In the scene, a grandiose amount of lightning flashes across a dark landscape. The lightning was bright and rapid, giving off a strobe-light effect and causing much discomfort when viewing.

Apart from the discomfort, “Tomb Raider” has only one other major issue: its rating. The movie is rated as “PG-13,” and only just barely does not qualify as an “R” rated film. It is most similar to 2017’s “Logan,” where large amounts of blood, gore and language could be used in full force, but with the “PG-13” rating, “Tomb Raider” seemed just a bit limited in its options. While the amount of blood and violence was a perfect reflection of the source material, the language felt toned down a bit, although this did not detract from the overall viewing experience.

“Tomb Raider” may be the single best video-game adaptation to ever hit the big screen. While others have tried and ultimately failed, one of gaming’s first heroines has finally ended this dark streak of poorly thought-out adaptations. With pristine casting, a fresh story that avoids alienating source material and intense action sequences that don’t drag beyond the point of being dull, “Tomb Raider” is sure to leave both fans of the franchise and fans of action movies excited for the possible sequels set up by Lara’s debut outing, which earns it a 9/10.