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

One of Angelina Jolie's stunt doubles was a man.

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Goofs

When Lara shoots the computers in Reiss' lab, she only shoots the monitors. All this does is stop displaying what the computer is doing. Many say, that a knowledgeable woman like Lara should know to shoot the processor, not the monitor. However, later Reiss talks about keeping Lara alive as long as they know the computer finishes its translation; Lara only tried to delay Reiss, not to destroy the process (she couldn't do that anyways, since the computer boxes are not visible, and even if they are accessible to shoot, destroying the processors would take more time and effort than Lara had). We even see one monitor unharmed and showing the process bar.

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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

Referenced in Jeopardy!: 2009 Teen Tournament Quarterfinal 3 (2009)

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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

Pretty Good, If All You Want Is A Brainless Action Movie

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life is an improvement over the original as it delivers more action and adventure. Archaeologist and explorer extraordinaire, Lara Croft, journeys to a temple which has sunken underwater in search of lost treasures. During her expedition, Croft happens upon a sphere that contains the mythical Pandora's Box, only to have it stolen from her by Chen Lo, the leader of a Chinese crime syndicate. Chen Lo is in league with a bad guy named Reiss, who wants to use the priceless Box as a doomsday weapon. The plot sounds okay but the main reason someone would see this film is for the action scenes and Angelina Jolie. People just wanting those two things will probably enjoy this film. People that want a good story and better direction should skip this film. The action scenes are really cool and are done well. However, the story is weak and the film doesn't quite make sense at times either. I think the person that should be blamed is Jan de Bont. He is a terrible director and can't build up suspense very well. He did a bit better then Simon West but still the studio should have hired someone else. The acting is good not great but nothing horrible either. Angelina Jolie does a good job of playing Lara Croft and she is also very breathtaking in the film. Gerard Butler does a good job as well though sometimes his performance wasn't very interesting. The action scenes are really cool and are done well. Another problem I had with this film is that it gets boring at times. Having a lot of action doesn't mean its audience will be entertained. The movie's running time is 117 minutes which is a bit longer then the original. I think they could have cut the film down to about the same length as there some pointless scenes. If you hated the original then you should skip this film as the film is more of the same but it is more entertaining. As long as you don't try to notice too many of the mistakes in the film then you should enjoy it. If your looking for a serious action flick then just skip this. Rating 6.8/10