Thinking about giving it another go, but still thinking hard!
Thinking about giving it another go, but still thinking hard!
Member since:07.06.2001
Reviews:44
Members who trust:43
I can remember, not so long ago going to great lengths to avoid my lectures (normally by sleeping in) and idling away the day with Richard and Judy, the cast of Neighbours and Lara Croft. As our dates progressed and I became more familiar to her, Miss. Croft agreed to be my companion on many a night, with nothing but a few cans, a kebab and a energetically waggled joystick for company.
I have since put away such childish things and enjoy a more mature and businesslike outlook, well, other than occasionally waggling my joystick.
When I heard that the film was to be released, I experienced the same trepidation that I'm sure most of us experienced. Questions like; will this be as horrific as Super Mario Brothers? Will we get to hear those grunting noises from Lara that we have grown to love? Is there any other film as bad as Super Mario Brothers? Ok, I mentioned that one twice.
I was pleasantly surprised. The film manages to keep several cross-sections of society happy at once. There
are mindblowing physical sequences for the action junkies, a plot (albeit a little far-fetched) for those who want more than just action and lastly, there is larger-than-life Lara. She runs, she jumps, she gets wet, she gasps and she has a great big pair of... handguns (Minds out of the gutter, please). This keeps the twentysomething, mind firmly in the gutter, section of the population very happy indeed.
The story, as is to be expected, seems to be simplicity itself made more complex for no real reason other than to emphasise the now 3-D Lara Croft. Lara must find two pieces of forged, five thousand year-old meteor metal, which when joined together during the alignment of all the planets in our solar system gives the bearer the ability to control time. Lara is racing against the clock to find both pieces of the ancient relic, fighting off the Illuminati (the baddies, who wish to harness the artifacts power for evil) and saving the universe from destruction. If that wasn't enough, in true Hollywood-style tradition, our heroin experiences a few shocking revelations about her past, serving nothing more than to tie up all the loose ends nicely.
The film is visually stunning, which is no less than to be expected from a budget as large as this one, the action is first-rate and enthralling (if a little hard to follow in places) and the acting is of a quality required for a feature of this genre. The plot itself has enough depth to fulfil all the basic requirements contained within the Hollywood handbook of good movie making and the concept itself just about bears up under close scrutiny.
There are very nice touches added to Tomb Raider that compliment the film as a whole. The minor characters are suitably fleshed-out and it was a particularly nice surprise to see Chris Barrie (of Red Dwarf fame) as Lara's faithful butler, Hillary. The camera work is in some places very reminiscent of the angles seen in the console game itself, my fiancee had to stop me from automatically waggling my joystick in preparedness for that all-important leap. Angelina Jolie's British accent is not only flawless, but identical to that of the character in the game and her acting ability, whilst unchallenged by the role, is perfectly executed.
On the downside however, the villain of the movie (played by Iain Glen) is extremely forgettable and not nearly as evil a characature as one would expect form a games console film conversion. The plot seems to trundle along in places, the weaker links in the chain connected to beautifully choreographied action set-pieces. For this reason the film is more a sum of it's parts, rather than a seamlessly continous plotline (the sort of film that would not suffer from commercial breaks) but this is not a major flaw.
In essence Tomb Raider is a good film. It is visually spectacular and easy to watch, with a well-written script and good acting. Nothing new here to challenge the mind, but still a damn good evenings viewing and I would recommend this to anyone in need of some escapism that is not entirely mindless.
This is not on a par with the Indiana Jones trilogy, but then again, what is? It is an excellent beginning for what will no doubt become a trilogy of it's own in the years to come. No, I will say it again, it is no Indiana Jones, but then again, can anyone remember the god-awful games that were spawned from that particular trilogy. No? Then you are either too young to remember or fortunate enough not to have owned a Spectrum 48K. Damn you, Clive Sinclair.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
(+) Fast pacy spy adventure, with great music and some equally great stunts. (-) Stunts a bit far fetched - but you expect that with this sort of film.
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
Production Year: 2004 - Action/Adventure - Director: Jon Turteltaub - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Justin Bartha, Sean Bean, Jon Voight, Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger
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: 1996 - Action/Adventure - Director: Tom Clegg - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Daragh O'Malley, Oliver Cotton, Jason Durr, Sean Bean, Allie Byrne
You do for Tomb Raider what I do for underarm deororants, ie a very good review! However, I enjoyed the film a lot more than you so I'll leave my own opinion shortly.
SMacdonald 29.07.2001 18:44
Very detailed, funny, and a good read. Great effort and appreciated.
the_mad_cabbie 14.07.2001 22:42
VERY bad idea to go waggling your joystick in cinemas....Big bad men in blue uniforms suddenly appear from nowhere and drag you off to the dungeons.....I'm looking forward to this movie, as is my ten year old daughter, who is Lara Croft MAD.....This is the first *fairly* positive review I've read of it, apart from people of twenty something mentioning Lara's obvious attributes.....Thoroughly enjoyable read (yet again).....Ken (the mad cabby)
Angelina Jolie is the first and best reason to watchLara Croft Tomb Raider. She gives an ... more
extraordinarily committed, physically demanding performance, taking on the mantle of the video game heroine with real conviction and energy, and becoming the embod...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Lara Croft, the world's most famous video-game heroine, bursts onto the big screen in .. ... more
the most stylish and entertaining action-adventure movie in years!Exploring lost empires, finding priceless treasures, punishing villains in mortal combat.. it's a...
Angelina Jolie is the first and best reason to watchLara Croft Tomb Raider. She gives an ... more
extraordinarily committed, physically demanding performance, taking on the mantle of the video game heroine with real conviction and energy, and becoming the embod...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Exploring lost empires finding priceless treasures punishing villains in mortal combat: ... more
it's all in a day's work for adventurer Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie). A secret from her father's (Jon Voight) past is about to lead Lara to her greatest challeng...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Advantages: Angelina Jolie, Angelina Jolie, Angelina Jolie. Oh, and some excellent action sequencies Disadvantages: No underwater swimming scenes, like in the game
Advantages: Excellent adventure yarn. Great stunts. Georgeous leading lady. Disadvantages: Not a lot. (But you wouldn't think it reading the poor reviews!
![Lara Croft Tomb Raider -- Special Collector's Edition [DVD] [2001]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78528045.jpg "Lara Croft Tomb Raider -- Special Collector's Edition [DVD] [2001]")
Jul 7th, 2001
very helpful by (100%):
