New job, new hair (shorter anyway, maybe I'm balding) new dogs, I'm back. Hopefully...
New job, new hair (shorter anyway, maybe I'm balding) new dogs, I'm back. Hopefully...
Member since:30.01.2001
Reviews:69
Members who trust:35
Ahh Tomb Raider. 2 Words guaranteed to get young mens pulses racing, and their hands busy (playing video games you pervs.) This film, one of the alleged summer blockbusters of 2001 is a spin off from one of the most successful game franchises of all time.
The first Tomb raider game was launched on the Playstation in 1996 to critical acclaim (I’ll review it one day) and the sequels were inevitable, though not quite as good. The film had been rumoured for several years, but only really took shape in the past 18 months.
The game followed archaeologist and adventurer Lara Croft as she searched for mysterious artefacts around the world. It was the closest we had to a new Indiana Jones and the game played exceptionally well. However it was the lead character that was to eventually become bigger than the game created for her. Lara Croft became an overnight sensation, her combination of amazing moves, great determination, sultry British accent and those voluptuous curves meant she became a gaming icon.
A few years later Lara was brought to life by model Nell McAndrew, she was used by creators Eidos to promote the new Tomb Raider games, and at the time she was touted to play Lara in the film. However after several other models played Lara, the filmmakers decided to go for a bona fide actress for the part. Allegedly, they looked at several British actresses including Liz Hurley, but eventually settled on American Angelina Jolie.
And so the film went into production, and has now hit our shores amidst a mass of hype and publicity. Toys, posters, mobile phones, keyrings and all other paraphernalia have hit the stores, and that was before the film was even released.
So to the film itself, not following any of the game plots it decided to create its own plot.
Plot. =====
The plot of Tomb Raider is breathtakingly simple in most ways, there is an artefact, it gives great
power to the holder of it and it is for this reason that Ms. Croft seeks to destroy it and its power. However a sinister organisation known as The Illuminati also seek the artefact for their own evil ends.
Whilst the plot moves along pretty rapidly, there are more holes here than in a Swiss cheese. Some of the moments are unexplained as to how Lara knows what to do, and its a bad thing, as the plot is needed even if only secondary to the action and effects. The other summer film of this type was The Mummy Returns, and whilst that also was a tour de force of effects and over-the-top action, it also had a rock solid plot that whilst ridiculous, at least explained itself. Tomb Raider does not try to do that, and it seems that certain plot points were simply overlooked in order to get the effects in.
The plot does veer away slightly from what I had expected, with a little sub-tale involving Lara’s Dad, Lord Croft. He was declared missing presumed dead years ago, but was never recovered.
Lara of course inherited his money and lives in a splendid mansion with hall manner of gadgets and training arenas, as well as a butler, Hilary, and a sidekick expert in technical fields, Bryce. A good chunk of the film takes place here before moving on to the tombs that she raids so well.
Cast. =====
As I said Angelina Jolie was chosen for the role of Lara. And what a good choice it was too, in a mediocre film she shines through with a performance of enthusiasm, ability and large knockers for the lads. Being American, the first thing for Jolie to do was to perfect the upper class English Accent as seen in the games. She has done this remarkably well, in fact she sounds a lot better than Renee Zellweger in Bridget Jones Diary. Apparently Angelina spent 3 months training for the role, including copmbat training, vehicle and weapons handling and a good dose of general action “tumbling” and the film is better for it.
INTERESTING FACT – After a few weeks filming the director had to confiscate her passport after she repeatedly flew home to see her husband, actor Billy Bob Thornton.
Sadly that is really the best part of the cast, the rest is made up of weaker stars or wasted talent, but we’ll go through them anyway.
Chris Barrie plays Lara’s long serving butler Hilary. The man of Red Dwarf fame as Rimmer is excellent in his role, but is sadly underused, he adds a touch of dry humour to scenes and deserved a bigger role.
Jon Voight appears as Lord Croft (Lara’s Dad) mostly in flashback form. Whilst also using a pretty good English accent Voight seems devoid of the usual persona that made him so good to watch in films like The Rainmaker.
INTERESTING FACT – Voight is Jolies Dad in real life.
Unknown (to me anyway) Noah Taylor plays Bryce, Lara’s techno-expert sidekick. He may be an expert with robots and the like but sadly his acting repertoire extends to a mere cliched Cockney funnyman. Given the nature of the film I thought it would have attracted bigger stars to this kind of role.
Likewise we come to the main baddie of the film, Manfred Powell. Played by Iain Glen. Glen (another who I have never heard of) plays the baddie in a calm fashion. However he seems far too calm and never gets going. As a result he doesn’t come over as evil at all and more of a nuisance to Lara than a nemesis. Again I feel a better and better-known actor could have made this role sizzle, and have added a lot to the film.
The rest of the cast is merely there to make up the numbers, with unknown actors playing roles that are virtually indifferent to the plot and its lead.
Effects. ========
This is where Tomb Raider was meant to shine, with its cast tombs, killer robots, awesome mythical baddies and action scenes. However I think The Mummy returns beat it all to it, and having seen the Brendan Fraser flick first, this all seemed a little average to me. The effects are good make no mistake, but they are nothing new, and if the plot is weak and the cast mostly poor then you need to do something new in the visuals department.
The action moves used are good, fight scenes are well done but they are a bit sparse, there is more focus on gunfights than fistfights. However the whole thing feels like its lacking something, like you’re waiting for the big effect moment and it never arrives.
Website. ========
I review a lot of films, and decided for this one to add a review of the films website, I intend to do this to all my film reviews past and future so feel free to backtrack and have a look at he updates.
The film website can be found at www.tombraidermovie.com with a game site at tombraider.com. However it’s the first site I’m looming at here. Opening up with a splash page featuring the lady herself and a few flashing buttons, we click the enter button to reveal a language choice, then speed choice for your connection. I chose English and high. Then we get a flash page loading, with an option to skip the intro.
The main problem is the time it takes to load, the intro takes quite a while then you have menus to load. However the lower speed site may be better.
Once in there is a lot to explore, including the making of the film, lots of stuff to download and interact with and trailers. However it’s hardly breathtaking stuff and is typical of film websites today, flash, but no great information.
It’s worth a look, but don’t expect anything more than shameless self promotion.
Overall. ========
Tomb Raider feels seriously like a missed opportunity. The games opened themselves out to be a film, and the options given to the writers and directors were excellent. I thought they missed out on the chance to bring some of the other game characters to life, like Natla and Larsson from the first incarnation. I would also have preferred them to rehash the plot of one of the games (again the first) as they would have been more familiar to the gamers. The soundtrack was not worthy of a review section, as all it contains is a mix of techno music used for when Lara springs around the set. The omission from the film of U2’s excellent Elevation (which does appear on the CD) was a surprise and a disappointment to me.
Tomb Raider is by no means an awful film, but is bland and uninspired, apart from Jolie who is excellent throughout. It will get buried for any design awards by The Mummy Returns, and yet will probably make more due its instantly recognisable heroine and her tremendous market value.
A definite moneymaker, and the sequel is inevitable. A second film might be better if they listen to the critics of this one, but when do they do that?
It might make a good game though :o)
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
So much debate about what is, inevitably, a mediocre film. Why do film makers find it so difficult to make a decent flick out of a game, especially one that, as you pointed out, has so much potential as a franchise? I await Final Fastasy:The Spirits Within reviews with a sense of dread - I fear history will repeat itself yet again.... Ben:o)
jefferson 13.08.2001 15:13
Corfu!!! Hope you have a great time :) And as you've probably gathered, I'm back!
LostWitness 04.08.2001 15:46
Excellent review - nothing you say comes as any real surprise to me! :O)
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
![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]")
Aug 3rd, 2001
very helpful by (100%):
