Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

Like Mr. Schwarzenegger is the one and only Conan (+Terminator) and Peter Sellers the one and only Inspector Clouseau, Angelina Jolie embodies Lara Croft to the day. Yes, both movies (Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life)) are far from perfect but at least they tried to capture the spirit of the games - character- and story-wise. Alicia Vikander may be a good looking woman and a decent actor but she is in no way Lara Croft (that "modernized" Lara is just plain terrible). Anyway, as most movie adaptions of games are rather total fails or subpar, both Tomb Raider movies starring Angelina are solid adventure and action food.

"Tomb Raider" is a harmless diversion that should please its core audience. I loved the performance of Angelina Jolie, who brings the computer game heroine Lara Croft to life. I watched an interview with Jolie in which she said that she really "became Lara Croft".

With her mock British accent, Jolie is a lot of fun as the adventurer-archaeologist who is equal parts Bruce Wayne and Indiana Jones, but with a much better body.

Taking its cue from the video game, the film's screenplay is more of a puzzle than a plot. The script is a patchwork of ideas that plays like a Greatest Hits collection of other films. It deals with end of the world stuff, but it never feels apocalyptic. It's controlled chaos, utterly lacking in surprise. The script jumps from one expected moment to the next, never apologizing for its lack of originality.

At least Jolie understands the limitations of the script. There's enough conviction in her performance to make you want to believe in Lara Croft, the spunky heiress is who is equally at home in her spacious mansion or within the catacombs of a lost tomb. She's guided by the spirit (both literally and figuratively) of her late adventurer father, Lord Croft (Jon Voight), and assisted by an archaeologist Alex West (Daniel Craig) and cyber-geek creator Bryce (Noah Taylor).

The film opens like "Raiders of the Lost Ark," with Lara Croft deep inside one of those musty, dusty tombs. Instead of outrunning a giant boulder, Croft squares off against a mechanical monster, a robotic menace that seems to come out of nowhere. It doesn't. We learn that it's a creation of Bryce, used to keep Croft on her toes.

Angelina Jolie made the perfect Lara Croft; her facial expressions and sly smirks added a personality to the flick that I can only imagine the video game is missing. She seemed smart, brave, and composed as well as full of emotion. Okay, maybe the parts with her father (real-life papa Jon Voight) were a little over the top, but since the whole movie is just eye-candy anyway they seemed to fit.

The fight scenes among ruins got me. How can you not love Lara Croft jumping onto a swinging obelisk to smash a glass eye that holds the key to time, or sledding thru an ice cave being pulled by dogs? Or the scene where the villains jump through her castle windows as she rappels around the walls, smashing chandeliers and pistol-whipping bad guys? What's a girl to do but hop on her motorbike, take a guy out sideways, and race off at 100 miles an hour? Excellent.

I am not here to defend any plot snags this film might have. I however thought it would be cool to come here and say that I liked this movie. It was quite entertaining. Maybe not always "riveting" but fun action cheese nonetheless. Jolie brought a computer woman to life well and the movie is a good rental, maybe even an unpopular purchase.

I gave it 7/10 stars.

I don't play video games, had never heard of Tomb Raider. I stumbled across this film on cable and absolutely loved it!

The person writing this usually tends to like movie classics and classical actresses. Rarely do I enjoy action films. This one is an exception.

Angelina Jolie is spectacularly fit, and in top acting form for this physically demanding role. I admit that I like the multi-talented Jolie. I found her to be a very believable Lady Lara Croft. Her acting, stunts (which she did most of herself), and her wonderful diction with a British accent, were a true delight. I watched this movie on cable at least ten times before I did something very, very rare for me: I purchased the DVD. Barring this film, the ONLY pre-recorded movies I own are classics.

The plot may be a bit on the thin side. It is, afterall, designed *after* a video game. Another thing I enjoyed about the film was the fact that while there was a great deal of violence, there was no unnecessary gore or vulgar language - read: buggar vs. what it could be.

I have to highly recommend this film for anyone who enjoys pure escapism at it's best! My 75 year old mother liked the movie, and she has very good taste when film is involved.

Many video game enthusiasts were looking forward to the movie adaptation of the "Tomb Raider" game series. When "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" was finally released, not all of them were satisfied. But the movie does have its good points. Angelina Jolie takes the lead as Lara Croft, the famed archaeologist/adventurer, woman warrior and gamer's dream girl. She plays the role as if she were meant to be Lara Croft. The movie also boasts some very good visual effects and exciting action. The plot does leave a bit to be desired, though. The ancients may have had deep knowledge about the universe and the planets, but the concept with the planetary alignment was just barely plausible. But, really, with movies like this, it's all about explosions and the star's body. Lara Croft's game might not be for everybody, and the same goes for the movie.