Lara Croft - Tomb Raider 2: The Cradle Of Life (DVD)
Production Year: 2003 - Action/Adventure - Director: Jan De Bont - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Angelina Jolie, Ciaran Hinds, Chris Barrie, Gerard Butler, Noah Taylor, Djimon Hounsou, Til Schweiger more
Popular video game character Lara Croft returns to the big screen in this sequel to LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER. Intrepid British archaeologist Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie) has made... more
but its appeal is mostly aimed at fans of the video games that inspired both movies. That pretty much leaves you with some fun but familiar action sequences, and t...
but its appeal is mostly aimed at fans of the video games that inspired both movies. That pretty much leaves you with some fun but familiar action sequences, and t...
ancient civilization believed to be the essence of all evil, Pandora's Box. She must travel the globe, from Greece to Hong Kong to Kenya and beyond to get the box...
important archaeological discovery in history: an orb that leads to the mythical Pandora's Box. Unfortunately the orb falls into the hands of Jonathan Reiss (Ciar'ƒ&#...
greatest challenge: the Triangle of Light a legendary artefact with the power to alter space and time. Lara must find the Triangle before it falls in to the clutch ...
the days of the original PlayStation. With updated graphics and gameplay, and a whole new suite of moves and equipment this is the sequel fans have always demanded.The lowdown:After the disappointment of Angel of Darkness, the Tomb Raider series has gone back to basics with a new developer and even a new Lara. Combat is back to being only around a third of the game with everything else centred on platform jumping and puzzle solving. To help this, theres a canny new movement system that allows Lara to jump onto and grab objects at an angle, so theres none of the awkward grid based movement of the earlier games. This is also the first Tomb Raider to have a proper physics engine, with lots of the puzzles revolving around movement and the use of Laras natty new magnetic grappling hook. The graphics are also excellent, and with input from the original creator this is a long awaited return to form.Most exciting moment:The realisation that this is actually a proper update of the original game, as Lara leaps around cliffs like a mountain goat, with graphics and controls that arent still stuck in 1996.Since you ask:The new voice of Lara is provided by Keeley Hawes, who also plays Zoe Reynolds in BBC TV show Spooks.The bottom line:Lara Croft is back in the first decent new Tomb Raider game for a long time.Harrison Dent
ancient civilization believed to be the essence of all evil, Pandora's Box. She must travel the globe, from Greece to Hong Kong to Kenya and beyond to get the box before it's found by a maniacal scientist (Ciaran Hindis) whose plan is to use it for mass annihilation.For this adventure, Lara recruits her ex-partner - Terry Sheridan (Gerard Butler) - a dangerous mercenary who has previously betrayed Lara and their country. She knows he's the best for the mission, but can she trust him again?Join her as she races through furious hand-to-hand battles, blazing shoot-outs and breathtaking sky-diving escapes to try to save the ancient artifact...and mankind's future.
the days of the original PlayStation. With updated graphics and gameplay, and a whole new suite of moves and equipment this is the sequel fans have always demanded.The lowdown:After the disappointment of Angel of Darkness, the Tomb Raider series has gone back to basics with a new developer and even a new Lara. Combat is back to being only around a third of the game with everything else centred on platform jumping and puzzle solving. To help this, theres a canny new movement system that allows Lara to jump onto and grab objects at an angle, so theres none of the awkward grid based movement of the earlier games. This is also the first Tomb Raider to have a proper physics engine, with lots of the puzzles revolving around movement and the use of Laras natty new magnetic grappling hook. The graphics are also excellent, and with input from the original creator this is a long awaited return to form.Most exciting moment:The realisation that this is actually a proper update of the original game, as Lara leaps around cliffs like a mountain goat, with graphics and controls that arent still stuck in 1996.Since you ask:The new voice of Lara is provided by Keeley Hawes, who also plays Zoe Reynolds in BBC TV show Spooks.The bottom line:Lara Croft is back in the first decent new Tomb Raider game for a long time.Harrison Dent
Production Year: 2005 - Action/Adventure - Director: Doug Liman - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Vince Vaughn, Adam Brody, Kerry Washington, Keith David, Chris Weitz
Production Year: 2007 - Action/Adventure - Director: Brett Ratner - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over, TBA - Starring:Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Hiroyuki Sanada, Youki Kudoh, Vinnie Jones, Max Von Sydow, Roman Polanski
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
A Decidedly Average Sequel To A Decidedly Average Film
A review by Great_reviewer07 on Lara Croft - Tomb Raider 2: The Cradle Of Life (DVD) September 9th, 2009
Author's product rating:
Did you enjoy it?
Indifferent to it
Story
Satisfactory
Characters / Performances
Satisfactory
Special Effects
Standard
Soundtrack
Average
Advantages:
Entertaining
Disadvantages:
Not quite as good as the first
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
In the second instalment of the Tomb Raider films, Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie) is put on a case by M15 to track down Pandora’s Box. If opened it will supposedly release a deadly plague, possibly causing the deaths of millions of people around the world. To find where Pandora’s Box is hidden Lara must get her hands on The Cradle Of Life. Lara must travel all over the globe to find The Cradle Of Life which will act as a map, leading her to Pandora’s Box in order to stop crime lords reaching it first and unleashing the deadly virus.
On her quest, Lara enlists former lover Terry Sheridan (Gerard Butler) who is currently serving time in prison. She desperately needs his help and expertise to track down The Cradle Of Life however has been given permission to kill him at any given moment if he shows any signs of turning against her on M15. Will the two be able to work together professionally or will an old flame be rekindled?
This film is merely a run of the mill sequel to a run of the mill original based on the rocky territory of a video game. When I was younger I remember playing the Lara Croft games on the old Playstation so I was interested to see how the big screen version would compare. There’s no question that Angelina Jolie was the perfect choice to play the big breasted heroine, with her stunning looks, huge probably collagen injected lips, piercing eyes and long brunette hair. In the video game Lara Croft was portrayed as a sex symbol, one that teen boys idolised as their perfect 2D woman so it was only right that they hired a real life sex symbol to play her role in the film and what bigger sex symbol is there than Angelina Jolie?
Angelina Jolie manages to encapsulate the role of the posh English totty well however I feel that she may have played the character a little too seriously, coming across as cold and sour faced. Lara Croft was always going to be a hard character to portray because she had already been established in a big way through the video games. When this film and he original was released the Tomb Raider mania had reached it’s peak therefore Jolie was inevitably going to come under a lot of critism for however she played our favourite heroine but I do feel that if she had maybe injected a bit of humour into her role she would have come across as a much warmer and welcoming character. I’m sure a lot of straight men love the hard faced act and I guarantee that however Jolie played the role of Croft this film would still have had straight men of all ages flocking to the cinema to see her in a padded bra with guns strapped to her thighs because lets face it what man wouldn’t like that?
The object of the Tomb Raider films were uncannily similar to the Indiana Jones films, they were made with the succinct purpose to entertain audiences. Luckily The Cradle Of Life does this well however it was never going to reach the starry heights of what Indiana Jones managed in the 80’s was it? What Indiana Jones had that Tomb Raider hasn’t is humour… and lots of it. This is what I thought Tomb Raider was going to have in bucket loads simply because it has so much potential that it doesn’t manage to live up to. There were so many missed opportunities in The Cradle Of Life, I mean you’ve got a female heroine who is stereotypically stunning, parading around half naked at numerous places during the film however this is never built upon, there could have been so many jokes added to the film to make it a more entertaining watch. The only other actress who seems to be rivalling Angelina Jolie on the sex appeal stakes is Transformers stunner Megan Fox who seems to be capable of handling action movies, all the while having a great comic timing meaning that she’s an upcoming threat for the actress.
With Angelina Jolie in the lead role you’re going to need a male lead who can match her in the sex appeal stakes, he needs to be rough and gruff with a non American accent. Cue Gerard Butler, with his sexy Scottish accent, toned physique and roguish good looks it would appear that he’d be the perfect counterpart for Angelina Jolie to work opposite. Gerard Butler does a decent job in the film however nowhere near faultless. It seems like he tries way too hard to be charming, of course working opposite one of the most beautiful actresses ever must be a little intimidating however Gerard Butler has a natural charm about him which he exudes when he’s not forcing it. In this film he seems to force it far too much and it comes across onscreen as very fake. The two should have electric chemistry together given both their sex symbol personas however this didn’t come off well on screen and again feels too forced. Butler tries hard to inject some comedy into a pretty lacklustre script and at times he almost pulls it off however more often than not he just comes away looking like a bit of a loser because he’s trying way too hard to make a good impression and he seems a bit too insecure during his scenes with Angelina Jolie.
The film moves along at a swift pace, with equal amounts of action and dialogue making it easy to follow what’s going on. The film is definitely not perfect though and it’s not just the questionable acting that brings this film down a peg or two. Despite the film fulfilling it’s purpose of entertaining people, the story does seem ever so disjointed and at times I felt that I was watching the film but I just wasn’t into the story enough. I was enjoying the action scenes filmed in an array of different countries but it was simply something to pass the time with and not something I felt myself becoming enthralled with.
The last half an hour become a bit too contrived for my liking, when the monsters appear from the trees in Africa you start to think to yourself that you hope the film ends soon because instead of giving us intentional comedy which they should have done they give us unintentional comedy, taking away what little credibility this film had to start with.
To summarise, the film is an enjoyable caper but unfortunately the story teeters off too much towards the end that it fails to capture audiences in the way that it’s supposed to. The lead actors do a reasonable job and play their roles competently but I only feel that a bit of comedy would have brightened up this film and made it a much more enjoyable experience.
The DVD is available from play.com for £3.99.
Special features include: Audio commentary from director Jan De Bont Deleted and alternative scenes with optional commentary from the director Gerard Butler's screen test 'Training' featurette (9 mins) 'Vehicles And Weapons' featurette (4 mins) 'Stunts' featurette (10 mins) 'Visual Effects' featurette (11 mins) 'Scoring' featurette (5 mins) 'Did My Time' music video from Korn 'Hearts Go...' music video from the Davey Brothers
More Reviews
Lara Kicks Ass! Review ofLara Croft - Tomb Raider 2: The Cradle Of Life (DVD)by
the_mad_cabbie
Advantages: Excellent adventure yarn. Great stunts. Georgeous leading lady. Disadvantages: Not a lot. (But you wouldn't think it reading the poor reviews!
...back in the early 1990’s, Lara Croft has been a firm favourite in the ‘mad cabbie’ household.
Of course, they were ostensibly bought for the wee lass, (my now twelve-year-old daughter) but in truth, her old dad probably got as much pleasure out of them as she did.
So it was hardly surprising that when the first Tomb Raider movie, starring Angelina Jolie, came out in 2001 that it was immediately purchased on video, (I didn’t ... ...went to see the new Lara Croft movie in its opening week. And we now eagerly await its release on DVD, most likely before Christmas.
~ ~ Are you beginning to get the general impression that I like Tomb Raider?
Have I managed to adequately convey the huge amount of pleasure this fictional character has given to my young daughter over the years?
And she is not alone!! Countless thousands of youngsters (and some not so young) have enjoyed the exploits ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Easy to watch, plenty of action, good cast Disadvantages: Bit predictable
...on Sky this month is Lara Croft: The Cradle of Life and although I did watch this on DvD when it first came out I decided that I would like to watch it again. ~The Greek Myth behind Pandora‘s Box~ taken from http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/carolrb/greek/greek1.html
At one time the only mortals on earth were men and the god Prometheus had made them, Athene had breathed life into them but the chief god Zeus did not like them. One day Prometheus was trying ... ...Plot~
Intrepid British archaeologist Lara Croft has made perhaps the most important archaeological discovery in history. When an earthquake in Greece rumbles the foundations of a building, Lara realises that they have staggered across the Lunar Temple built by Alexander the Great. Finding this temple is one of the most import Archaeological discoveries of all time and Lara begins to look for something important - an Orb which holds the map to the ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Good potential storyline Disadvantages: Predictable and weak acting
...with another film review on Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life.
I shall of course start in the usual fashion when doing one of my film reviews with a couple of quotes from some critics:
"After a while, you stop speculating how Croft will wriggle out of each fine mess and start checking your watch."
Gene Seymour, NEWSDAY
"When we're not offered dime-store CGI or cardboard Temple Settings, we're attacked by action sequences that waver between ... ...film included! Good for Lara Croft fans! This film also comes in VHS.
Released by Paramount Pictures....(Not a bad effort I suppose guys!)
A running time of 1 hour and 57 minutes....(how many bullets can you fire in that time Lara?)
***DVD SPECIAL FEATURES***
As I have the DVD I'll give you a list of the features on it.
Commentary By Director Jan De Bont Deleted Scenes Alternate Scenes Featurettes Gerard Butlers Screen Test The Davey Brothers ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: action packed, amazing special effects Disadvantages: Some may find it all too predictable.
...I was excited about seeing Lara Croft's character being transformed into a real life character on the big screen!
Having thoroughly enjoyed Angelina Jolie's first big screen outing as Lara croft, I was eager to see if the sequel could live up to it!
The critics gave it a very poor review but this didn't deter me from purchasing the DVD on the day of its release, and I certainly wasn't disappointed.
Plot
Lara Croft ( Angelina Jolie) returns in ... ...the world, stunning locations which Lara travels to in her search for the box, and bucket loads of stunt scenes and special effects to hook you in! What makes this better than the first film for me, is the fact that there is far more action to keep you entertained.
The first film had a few full on action scenes, but kept focusing more on her emotional side with regards to her father dying when she was young. This time round although still focusing ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Did you enjoy it?
Story
Characters / Performances
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very helpful
26.01.2006
(18.03.2006)
Quick review of Lara Croft - Tomb Raider 2: The Cradle Of Life (DVD) Review ofLara Croft - Tomb Raider 2: The Cradle Of Life (DVD)by
Soumyadeep
The movie is about adventure in Africa about a cradle of life. Angelina jolie plays the lead role, and is a great adventure movie. The surrounding shots of Africa are superb. The dvd stands tall on both audio and video fronts.
Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Plot: Lara Croft is back and on another mission to save the world. She must find the mythological Pandora's Box from a temple located under water. No sooner has Lara secured the artefact then it is stolen by a Criminal organisation intent on using it to create a deadly weapon...
Release details
DVD Region: DVD
Studio(s): PARAMOUNT HOME ENTERTAINMENT; TECHNICOLOR DIST. SERVICES
Popular video game character Lara Croft returns to the big screen in this sequel to LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER. Intrepid British archaeologist Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie) has made perhaps the most important archaeological discovery in history: an orb that leads to the mythical Pandora's Box. Unfortunately, the orb falls into the hands of Jonathan Reiss (Ciaran Hinds), an evil scientist who deals in killer viruses and hopes to sell the secrets of the box as the ultimate weapon. Recruited by British Intelligence to get the orb back from Reiss, Lara enlists Terry Sheridan (Gerard Butler), a British marine turned mercenary--and her former love interest--to help. The two embark on an adventure that spans continents in an attempt to regain the orb. Lara is a walking advertisement for "girl power." She's brilliant, athletic, courageous, and saucy. She flips jet skis, parachutes to safety from tall buildings, dives, rides horses--nothing seems beyond her. Best of all, Lara is one of the good ones--she'll do whatever she must to keep the world safe. Directed by Jan de Bont, this film was shot on location in Greece, Kenya, Hong Kong, England, and Wales.
Technical information
Special Features: Commentary By Director Jan De Bont, Deleted Scenes, Alternate Scenes, Featurettes, Gerard Butlers Screen Test, The Davey Brothers Heart Go Faster Music Video, Original Theatrical Web Site Archive
Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Dubbing Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Czech English
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