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Lara Croft - Tomb Raider Customer Reviews (19 - 21 of 54 Reviews)

"My ignorance amuses me." At least it amused somebody...
Tomb Raider is the kind of movie you can watch while reading a book and not miss a thing. Lara Croft originated in video games as a wild, sassy heroine with amazing acrobatic skill and two Desert Eagles to back her up, and her games supercharged that industry. The idea for the movie was to cross Indiana Jones with James Bond, throw in a little bit of Batman's dark side and humor from The Mummy, and populate the lead role with a sexy, academy award-winning actress, Angelina Jolie. You would think that formula couldn't lose, but the final serving is a mess. I prefer the video games, even the later ones.

Director Simon West approached this film as if he were shooting a commercial or music video. Every single shot is some high-concept, slow-mo dutch angle that lovingly follows our heroine on her adventure: we lovingly watch Lara open the door, then lovingly watch her close the door, that kind of thing. It gets old fast. The plot, too, is full of exotic locations and references to the films I mentioned above, and nothing is missing but some logic to make any sense of it. Major plot points are lost in the glamor, and the endless sexy shots of our heroine and her hapless foes. Enemies suddenly become friends for no sensible reason, and the major plot-twist is so uninspiring that if you blink you'll miss it. The CGI enemies for Lara Croft look terrible and are about as entertaining as a barrel full of Jar-Jar Binks'. The dialog is horrendous. "My ignorance amuses me" is a real line that is actually heard 3 times, and it was just as dumb as it sounds. I don't think the characters were even listening to each other, just say cool-sounding things to match the empty shine of the entire over-paid mess. The onscreen meeting of offscreen fatherand dauther John Voight and Jolie is touching, dispite the fact that they don't have much to say to each other.

I admire the daring of the filmmakers to place Lara Croft on equal footing with any male enemy she faces - Croft simply karate chops 'em to the ground exactly as if she were a man, no dirty tricks, just pure power and skill. Unfortunately, Angelina Jolie isn't believably as a nimble acrobatic kung-fu master. Jolie DOES play Croft with a large does of sensual sexuality, but she throws a kick like a turle, and the wire work in this move is terrible, nothing as interesting as The Matrix. Jolie doesn't look graceful, she looks clumbsy.

THE DVD - is a good one. The making of documentary is from HBO, which means that it's about 3 stars out of 5. There is an audio commentary and lots of little featurettes about various fxs and training for Jolie. U2's excellent video is a must see.

Action has never been sexier....
Tomb Raider explodes onto the screen with spectacular special effects, some show stopping action scenes and best of all, Angelina Jolie perfectly cast as Laura Croft. Her embodiment of the popular video game character is very close, yet Jolie gives Lara Croft her own spin and the result works in her favor. The end result? It should've been a lot better, because what Tomb Raider is missing, is a good script. Things begin well enough, but after about a half hour of introducing characters and drawing up some interesting character angles, things quickly disintergrate into a typical summer action film. An assault on the senses but a total insult to the brain. Still, if you're looking for action, sex appeal or just a harmless way to kill 104 minutes, you could do a lot worse than Tomb Raider.

Tomb Raider begins with a bang like most action films. We meet up with Lara Croft as she battles a massive training robot. This sequence is an impressive way to kick things off. As Croft, Jolie gets to flex her action muscles flipping all over the place and firing guns at the metallic menace. This scene serves its purpose well enough, to draw the viewer into the type of film Tomb Raider is. From here, we learn that heiress Croft is haunted by the mysterious vanishing of her father (played by Jolie's real life pop Jon Voight), whom disappeared several years ago. There's a lot of buildup in the first twenty minutes or so as Laura begins to investigate the mysterious origins of a rare clock she discovers walled up in storage, hidden by her father. Lara discovers this "clock of ages" is a device that will allow to user to control time and space when all the planets are aligned. From here, most of the plot and characters go out the window in favor of wild action sequences. There's some hokum about a cult called the Illuminati-also seeking the clock. They exist to give Lara the majority of the resistance she will encounter during the course of her adventure.

What doesn't work about Tomb Raider is the lack of a good villian, a script with several loose ends and an unsatisfying climax which feels a tad rushed an anticlimactic. Our villian in this film just sits on the fence, he's manipulating Lara to do his bidding, but he provides no tnesion. His character is bested by Lara for almost the entire film, we are given no real reason to fear him and his minions. By the finish, it almost becomes a bore, the clash between Lara and the villian provides no suspense and by this point, we almost don't care anyway.

Another problem is the weak screenplay. Its got plot holes big enough to drive a truck through. For example, in one scene, a character sells out Lara Croft to the villians and his motivations for doing so are never explained. We never know why, nor do we ever see this character again. Another head scratcher is the appearence of a little 'phantom' girl who pops up on occasion to guide Lara Croft along on her quest. Exactly who she is or why she's there is anybody's guess. There are a couple of genuinely silly moments involving Jon Voight (as Lara's father) that are intended to provide emotion but can be taken as unintentional comedy.

Director Simon West (Con Air, The General's Daughter) handles this film and provides as many pluses as he does minuses himself. As far as handling the more plot heavy elements of the film, West inexplicably seems uncomfortable. In contrast to his previous film, the plot dependant General's Daughter, West did a much better job. Whether or not you liked that film, West told the film's story with a sure hand. In Tomb Raider, not a single shot seems to last more than six or seven seconds. In trying to develop a plot with this 'MTV' style, it gets tedious and absurd. On the flipside however, West stages some of the most exciting action sequences seen in a while and does a brilliant job of orchestrating them. The two showstoppers are the battle in Croft manor and the fight with the stone creatures. West is a good action director and in this film, has done some of his best work.

Exhilirating action aisde, the good points outweight the bad almost completely thanks to Angelina Jolie. Saying that as Lara Croft, Jolie may very well be THE sexiest woman ever to grace the screen is indeed an understatement, but it's also unfair. Jolie looks the part, but she plays it even better. Stepping into the shoes of a video game character and doing so successfully probably isn't the easiest thing to do, and it's never been done right up until now. Angelina Jolie steps into that skin tight outfit and weilds those pistols with such gusto and enthusiasm that it's hard not to like her character. Admittedly it's a bit hard to get to know her beyond the first twenty or so minutes, but with such a lackluster script Jolie really shines through more than any other actress would or could. She's a great actress and makes for a perfect action hero.

All in all, Tomb Raider's good points outweight the bad because it's still a fun adventure. It may not be a classic, but there's enough sex appeal and adventure to keep your eyes glued to the screen for its running time. If you're willing to turn off your brain before you go in, you'll probably have a good time.

I hope this does well enough to inspire a Tomb Raider 2, there's a lot of room for improvement and to not use Jolie again would be a crime! She's a perfect hero and makes this DVD a must own for me when it come out!

This is Jolie at her very best!
Your mission: obtain the clock powered by the All-Seeing Eye, which will begin its countdown to the complete solar eclipse in which all the planets will align. Use this to locate and reunite the two missing halves of the Triangle of Light, which will give its possessor power over time itself.

Sounds like something out of a video game, right? Well, actually, it's the mission that serves as the plot for "Tomb Raider," which is based on the popular interactive adventure. The movie, which is packed with action that contains little to no suspense, rides to success on its exotic locations, daredevil stunts, and the winning actress Angelina Jolie, in a role she was born to play. I wasn't on the edge of my seat, but I enjoyed it more than expected.

The movie introduces Lara Croft, born of a wealthy father whose expeditions took him out of the picture when Lara was a young child. Her wealth seems of little interest to her, though she puts it to good use by investing in mechanical beasts and reality-based scenarios in order to practice what she does best: discover artifacts. Lara is strong, careful of showing her sensitive side, and extremely witty and articulately sarcastic.

This is the Angelina Jolie that we love and admire. Her charisma and charm are a force to be reckoned with, not to mention the fact that she fits the role perfectly with more than just her looks. While beautiful as an actress, it is easy to see that she also has a brutal side, one that makes her a very formidable action heroine.

Upon investigation of a clock found in her home, she discovers a ticking clock, seemingly running on no apparent source of power, which is ticking down to the impending solar eclipse in which all of the planets will arrive. But when a pack of thieves invade her home and steal the clock, which has more significance than it appears to have, she learns that it is a key to the discovery of the Triangle of Light.

At this point, all things about the mystery in the plot are explained: the reasons for which the secret group called the Illuminati wish to obtain the precious piece, and what can occur when the two pieces are united once again. Here, the movie segues into a race against time concerning who will win the prize, during which Lara will bargain with the opposite side in hopes of changing time and bringing back her father,

Sounds kind of silly, huh? Well, it's inspired by a video game, so your expectations shouldn't be too high. The movie makes the mistake of taking itself a little too seriously, The action sequences are fun and interesting to watch, and may even evoke some chuckles from the suaveness Jolie brings to her character in the most tense of situations. But they have no suspense at all: predictability sets in a lot, and it's easy to guess who's going to end up where.

But it's not a total loss. I found myself laughing at those actions sequences, not so much out of disbelief as out of sheer enjoyment. It's the kind of movie that makes me feel like a kid again, which is, at times, a lot of fun.

The settings and locations picked for this film are divinely chosen. There are two places in the movie, the locations of the two halves of the triangle, one of which is an ancient tomb, and another in Iceland that holds a large, rotating model of the planets (trust me, it looks like something straight out of the prop department from "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory"). Still, these settings call attention to the details throughout, while bringing back fond memories of the Indiana Jones films and other adventures.

"Tomb Raider" is what it is, a good adventure, not making the mistake of trying to be something more. The action may be a little lifeless, but it can be a fun ride, mainly in part to Jolie's brilliance as an actress. If I were hiking in the Amazon, I'd want her as my tour guide.

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