I have to give all the credit for this article to my oldest brother. He alerted me to the fact that Tomb Raider (2018) is practically a carbon copy of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. I had no intention of watching Tomb Raider because it didn’t interest me, but I had to see for myself if the film really is a ripoff of that 1989 classic. And I’m here to say that it absolutely is.

Let’s see how Tomb Raider raided the original raider of the lost Ark.

Watch Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: 

Father’s Diary and Map

Lara Croft’s father is in possession of a map and notes containing information no one else is privy to, just as Indiana Jones’s father is in possession of a map and diary of a similar nature.

Missing Dad

Lara misses her father because he mysteriously disappeared years ago, and she still hasn’t come to terms with his loss. Her desire to find closure with her father is what propels the film’s plot as she follows in his footsteps. Indy walked out on his father years ago, and they haven’t spoken since. Once his father goes missing, though, Indy retraces his steps in order to track him down.

Richard’s Tomb

Lara cleverly decodes a clue from her father, which leads her to the tomb of Richard Croft. She finds all sorts of research in the tomb, which aids her in her journey. Indy also cleverly interprets the clues from his father’s diary to find his way to the tomb of Sir Richard underneath Venice. He etches an imprint of Sir Richard’s shield to guide him to the Holy Grail.

Don’t Let My Research Fall Into the Wrong Hands

In a message found in his tomb, Richard begs Lara to burn his research so that it will not fall into the wrong hands. She does not, but she studies it and brings it with her, leading to much consternation from her father when the bad guy gets it. Henry Jones sends his diary to his son, hoping that he will keep it far away from the Nazis. But Indy studies it and takes it with him on his adventure, leading to much frustration from his father when the bad guys get it.

Boat Chase

A few thieves ambush Lara and steal her backpack, which contains her father’s research. She chases them across boats and docks to retrieve her property. Members of the Brotherhood of the Cruciform Sword chase Indy on foot and in boats to try to scare him away from pursuing the Holy Grail.

Ordeals and Challenges

Lara reads her father’s notes about the deadly ordeals of Himiko, which she will have to overcome to reach the final goal. Indy reads his father’s diary and learns about three challenges he’ll have to face to reach the Grail.

Order of Trinity and Nazis

The Order of Trinity is in a race with Richard and Lara to find the tomb of Himiko and use it for nefarious purposes, much like the Nazis and their pursuit of the Grail.

Abandon Ship

As Lara approaches the island her father went to years ago, a storm erupts and sinks her ship. She barely manages to grab Richard’s notes before she is thrown off the sinking ship and washes ashore. This is reminiscent of the scene where Indy tracks down an old artifact he’s been pursuing for years on a ship in the middle of a storm. He manages to jump off the boat right before it explodes, and he is rescued by a stray ring buoy.

Bad Guy Pretends to Be a Friend

Lara awakens to find herself in a tent with a mysterious man named Mathias Vogel who at first paints himself in a sympathetic light. He worked with her father years ago, but he claims that he later killed Richard. He turns out to be a liar and a bad guy. He steals Richard’s notes from Lara. Indy meets up with a doctor named Elsa Schneider in Venice and she wins Indy’s trust. She worked with Indy’s father, and she claims that he just disappeared one day. She turns out to be a liar and a bad girl. She takes the diary from Indy and delivers it to the Nazis.

Rough Landing

Lara gets away from her captors and finds herself in an old, rusty plane precariously positioned over a waterfall. She grabs a parachute and opens it after she falls out of the plane, but it’s full of holes, so she hits the ground hard. She later kills a tracker who was tasked with recapturing her. Indy and Henry escape from the Nazis, and they stow away aboard an airship, but they are forced to commandeer a plane to get off the airship because it’s returning to Germany. During an aerial battle, Henry accidentally shoots the plane’s tail to pieces, and Indy makes a rough landing as a result. They kill a couple of pilots who continue to attack them after they land.

Mistaken Identity

When Richard first sees Lara, he thinks she’s just a figment of his imagination, so he ignores her until he is convinced that she is real. When Henry first sees Indy, he thinks that he’s a Nazi, so he attacks him until he realizes it’s his son.

Healing Wounds

During her landing, Lara was impaled in the abdomen by a piece of metal. Richard treats her wound and helps her to recover. Henry gets shot in the abdomen, and Indy has to obtain the Grail in order heal him.

Family Reunion

The morning after their reunion, Lara and Richard have a frank conversation about their long separation and what they’ve been up to all these years. On the airship, Indy and Henry take advantage of a moment of peace to discuss their falling-out.

Finding a Way in

With the help of Richard’s notes, Mathias finds the cave containing Himiko’s tomb. But he can’t get it open, so he points a gun at Richard to get Lara to figure out a way in. He taunts her by saying that she doesn’t believe any of the legends about Himiko. She reluctantly accepts his challenge and opens the cave. With the help of Henry’s map, the Nazis find the entrance to the resting place of the Grail. They can’t get through even the first challenge, so their leader mortally wounds Henry with a bullet to the abdomen and tells Indy the only way to save him is to find the Grail. He taunts Indy by asking him if he believes the Grail can heal his dying father. Indy reluctantly accepts the first challenge and opens a path through it.

Leap of Faith

Lara must cross a rather unstable makeshift bridge across the Chasm of Souls. She hesitates, but she ultimately makes it across. Indy has to take a leap of faith from the lion’s head onto an invisible bridge to reach the Grail. He summons all his courage and makes it across.

Floor Falling

In another ordeal, Lara must solve a riddle as the ground underneath her falls away. It takes her a while, but she eventually comes up with the correct solution. In one of the challenges, Indy has to cross a floor covered with letters. The wrong letters give way if he steps on them. He has to step on only letters that spell the name of God: Jehovah. Unfortunately, he forgets that in Latin it begins with an I, so he almost falls to his death on his first attempt.

A Horrible Death

It turns out that Himiko’s body is tainted with a deadly disease that quickly kills whoever touches her. A few bad guys, including Mathias, touch her and their bodies crumble until they die in agony. The true Grail is surrounded by hundreds of fakes, which will kill anyone who drinks from them. The leader of the Nazis drinks from the wrong cup and he ages rapidly until he crumbles into dust.

Letting Go

Lara is heartbroken to learn that her father has been infected by Himiko’s disease and there is no way to save him. She must let him go in order to save the world and escape the crumbling cave. As the Grail’s resting place crumbles, Indy is struggling to reach the Grail, which is nestled in a niche just beyond his grasp down a steep cliff. Indy’s father encourages him to let it go, even though it’s his own life’s work. He follows his father’s advice and makes it out in the nick of time.

The Real Villain

On her return home, Lara realizes that the true leader of the Order of Trinity is none other than the woman who set her on the path to going on the adventure in the first place. After finding his father and getting captured, Indy learns that the man who originally sent him on his quest to find his father and the Grail is a Nazi leader.

Raiders of The Last Crusade

I love video games, but I was never a fan of Tomb Raider. When the movies with Angelina Jolie came out more than a decade ago, I was turned off even more because they looked like half-hearted attempts at recreating the spirit of the old Indiana Jones films. Little did I know that my first instinct would prove even more true than I could have imagined. The makers of Tomb Raider are raiders of The Last Crusade. If you’re going to steal, you might as well steal from the best. I’d like to thank my brother again for giving me this article idea. I always welcome suggestions and feedback from my readers.

This is the Deja Reviewer bidding you farewell until we meet again.

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