Lara Croft: Tomb Raider;
The Cradle of Life

Starring: Angelina Jolie, Gerard Butler, Ciaran Hinds
Directed by: Jan de Bont
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure
2003

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie) teams up with an old flame (Gerald Butler) to search for Pandora's Box before an evil man (Ciaran Hinds) gets it and unleashes a plague upon the world.

Review:

Tim: This might be somewhat unbelievable to hear, but this film was even worse than the not very good original. I couldn't believe (well it is Hollywood) that this picture was going to be made. I mean, sure the original made a lot of money, but the film was not very good in the least. Why am I surprised? Jolie, though somewhat encapturing Lara Croft, the popular heroine of the video games, wasn't all that spectacular in the first one and isn't so here. This is an unnecessary sequel created almost entirely in an effort to make money (I suppose all films are in some sense).

While watching this film, I believe I stumbled upon one of the fundamental problems of the Tomb Raider series. The first problem was finding an actor to play the strong...well-endowed Lara Croft. The casting director did a tremendous job in landing Jolie, perhaps the only actress in Hollywood that could truly play this part. The problem is, Jolie is too much herself on screen. When I am watching this movie and I see the heroine jumping, shooting, climbing, and driving, I think of her as Angelina Jolie... not as Laura Croft. This drastically takes away from the picture. The best performances are the ones where the actor disappears and only the part remains. For example, the first time you saw Forrest Gump, how many people were thinking, "Tom Hanks is really slow." No, they were thinking, "Run, Forrest, run!!!" He successfully became his part. Jolie is unable to do that and as a result, I can't get past the thought of her as an actor. Jolie plays Lara Croft. Tom Hanks becameForrest Gump. That is the difference here (by the way, I apologize to everyone involved in Gump, as I have done you a great offense for comparing you to Jolie's awful sequel.

Perhaps even worse than the character crisis is the laughable action that plagues this film. Under water, Jolie... I mean... Croft, punches a shark in the face and then rides it. Read that last sentence over again, just to be sure you read it right. I am not kidding here. Now, I can suspend my disbelief and accept a lot of stretching reality, but the bullcrap meter is running pretty high on this one.

The Cradle of Lifealso suffers because it is far too long and ridiculous. After sitting through the entire film, the ending scenes involving the trip to the cradle of life does manage to show some interesting things and holds my attention. However, it is far too little too late for any attempt to save this picture. This sequel is awful and I can only pray no one tries to make a third one. All that being said, I'm glad this did poorly at the box office.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 3.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Tomb Raider, The Bone Collector, Super Mario Brothers, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, Raiders of the Lost Ark