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...

---

Plot Keywords:

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

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Thriller

---

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

Much of the background story of this film revolves around Alexander The Great AKA Alexander of Macedonia. Angelina Jolie actually portrays Alexander The Greats mother, Olympias, in Alexander.

---

Goofs

When Lara goes to the prison where Terry is being held, Kazakhstan is misspelled "Kazahkstan".

---

Quotes

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

---

Crazy Credits

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

---

Connections

References Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

---

Soundtracks

"Flower Duet (from Lakmé)"
by Léo Delibes, Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille
Performed by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Courtesy of Extreme Music plc

User Reviews

Quite good, indeed.

I thought the movie was nicely paced, and the action was, to say the least, pretty darn good. Granted, the story line could have been "fished" out a bit, Ms. Jolie's action made up for that short fall. Being a huge fan of Mr. Chris Barrie, it was nice to see the character of Hillary have more to do than just clean up after the mansion gets raided. Let's hope the next installment has the same action, fast paced locations and even more realism in the storyline. All in all, The Cradle of Life hits almost all the right notes. Ms. Jolie has done some fine work here.