Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003)

Lara Croft is on a quest to save Pandora's box.

Director:

Jan de Bont

Writers:

Dean Georgaris (screenplay), Steven E. de Souza (story),

Stars:

Angelina Jolie, Gerard Butler, Ciarán Hinds

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Angelina Jolie	...	Lara Croft
Gerard Butler	...	Terry Sheridan
Ciarán Hinds	...	Jonathan Reiss
Chris Barrie	...	Hillary (as Christopher Barrie)
Noah Taylor	...	Bryce
Djimon Hounsou	...	Kosa
Til Schweiger	...	Sean
Simon Yam	...	Chen Lo
Terence Yin	...	Xien
Daniel Caltagirone	...	Nicholas Petraki
Fabiano Martell	...	Jimmy Petraki
Jonny Coyne	...	Gus Petraki (as Jonathan Coyne)
Robert Cavanah	...	MI6 Agent Stevens
Ronan Vibert	...	MI6 Agent Calloway
Lenny Juma	...	Village Leader

Storyline

Intrepid British archaeologist Lara Croft 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, 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 recruits Terry Sheridan, 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...

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Plot Keywords:

orb | pandoras box | helicopter chase | african tribe | archeologist | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for action violence and some sensuality

Details

Official Sites:

Paramount

Country:

USA Germany Japan UK

Language:

English Mandarin

Release Date:

25 July 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tomb Raider 2

Filming Locations:

Amboseli National Park, Kenya

Box Office

Budget:

$95,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$828,217 (Italy) (24 October 2003)

Gross:

$65,653,758 (USA) (7 November 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Mutual Film Company, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the German version of the movie Til Schweiger dubbed himself in the role of Sean.

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Goofs

When Lara and Terry speak to the residents of a boat in Hong Kong, they communicate in Mandarin. However, Cantonese is more commonly spoken among Hong Kong locals than Mandarin.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jimmy Petraki: They found another one. There's going to be no treasure left by the time she gets here.

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Crazy Credits

During the end credits, the names rolling through the center are highlighted.

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Connections

Features SpongeBob SquarePants: Jellyfishing/Plankton! (1999)

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Soundtracks

"Reason Is Treason"
by Sergio Pizzorno and Chris Karloff
Performed by Kasabian
Courtesy of BMG UK & Ireland Limited

User Reviews

Jan De Bont, thy name is wasted potential...

When I look at Jan De Bont's resumé, I think of all the brilliant Dutch projects he has worked upon, and then I think of the films he has directed in America. The gulf between the two is such that even the less discerning can't help but be amazed. This is, after all, the guy who worked alongside one of Holland's favourite sons, the legendary Paul Verhoeven, on such indisputable triumphs as Turks Fruit or Flesh + Blood. To call directing such dreck as Speed or Tomb Raider 2 a comedown is a form of flattery.

Lara Croft, Tomb Raider: The Cradle Of Life, also proves one of a certain critic's rules regarding appreciating film based on their titles. The rule basically states that the longer the title is, the worse the film will be. Just as RoboCop, clocking in at a mere seven characters, is one of the greatest films the American film industry has ever been blessed with, Tomb Raider 2's full title clocks in at a whopping forty-two. Believe me, the quality level indicated by this under the aforementioned rule is very much in force here.

A classic example of this film's idiocy is when Lara, bleeding from one leg and stranded outside an underwater crypt, punches a shark in the face before riding on his back and finding a quiet place to sleep out on the ocean for an unspecified period. I'm no expert on sharks, but I would have thought that the impediment to motion that being under several hundred feet of water poses would make a punch in the face feel to a shark what a light poke in the nose would feel to us under normal circumstances. Not to mention the fact that, after lying out in such a large body of water for so long with an open wound, at least another shark is bound to come along sooner or later.

One area where Jan deserves credit is that I've never seen him resort to the use of shaky-cam. Thankfully, directors of European origin saw right through the party line that this puts the audience into the action, and realized that it does nothing of the kind. As a result, while many shots are too close for comfort during action sequences, they are at least stable enough that one can make sense of the actors' motions. The fight scene choreography is of such a quality that it doesn't need to be hidden from the audience.

Angelina Jolie seems to have a lock on strong woman characters that are so generic she can portray them all alike, yet she does this template so well that at least this audience member fails to notice. The problem here is that every character in this film is so generic that you cannot help but notice. Jolie's acting is never that brilliant, but she looks like Anna Paquin next to Gerard Butler. Noah Taylor is another classic example of a reason why I am not surprised that Australian entertainers rarely manage to get out of the isolation tank that is Australia. Seriously, this guy could be reading a description of Angelina's naked body and bore the hell out of me.

I gave Lara Croft: Tomb Raider: The Cradle Of Life a two out of ten. Don't mistake this to mean that it is necessarily better than the films I gave a one out of ten. When I give something a two out of ten, that means its mediocrity makes it seem like a deliberate waste of a good hundred million. Aside from Angelina Jolie in skin-tight lycra and a clever twist ending, there ain't nothing to see here, folks.