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307 reviews in total

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35 out of 44 people found the following review useful:
goofball action film, 11 August 2005

Author: Roland E. Zwick (magneteach@aol.com) from United States

Angelina Jolie returns as a distaff Indiana Jones in "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life," an action/adventure film (based on a video game character) that is just goofy enough and inane enough to be almost entertaining.

In this follow-up adventure - which is designed to give historians and social studies teachers a severe case of the heebie-jeebies - Lara, the world-famous archaeologist and adventurist, finds evidence that the mythical Pandora's Box is really no myth at all, but rather an actual object loaded with enough plague and pestilence to wipe the entire human race off the face of the planet. It lies buried somewhere, hidden by Alexander the Great in the 4th Century B.C. when he discovered how virulent and deadly the contents of the box really were. Now, twenty-four centuries later, Lara has to try and prevent an evil billionaire capitalist from locating the container, prying open the lid, and bringing an end to civilization as we know it.

Though the storyline is clearly not one to be conjured with, all that really matters in a movie such as this one is that the action move quickly and the stunts be sufficiently enterprising to engage the audience. Credibility is the last prerequisite in a Lara Croft adventure, as evidenced by the fact that if Lara isn't parachuting smack dab onto the deck of a ship or into the passenger seat of a moving jeep, she's hitching a ride on the back of a great white shark and riding it to safety. Ah well, it's all in good fun, I suppose, and Jolie not only looks stunning in all the outfits she's been given to wear, but seems to be having a fine time playing along with the joke.

The ending is inevitably anticlimactic, but viewers can have a pretty good time getting there at least.

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22 out of 32 people found the following review useful:
Pretty Good, If All You Want Is A Brainless Action Movie, 1 July 2005

Author: christian123

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

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54 out of 97 people found the following review useful:
Jan De Bont, thy name is wasted potential..., 16 October 2004

Author: mentalcritic from Southern Hemisphere

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.

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23 out of 36 people found the following review useful:
Weakest Action Movie of the Summer, 1 September 2003

Author: dromasca from Herzlya, Israel

This second movie in the 'Tomb Raider' series was a disapointment for me. I was not a great fan of the first one either. Certainly Angelina Jolie is as sexy as you can get, but there is too little else in her character to make her the female James Bond that the authors of the series want her to be. Even the sentimental track in this second movie does not succeed to make her more real. Director Jan de Bont succeeded much better with the original story in 'Speed' or the reality-TV like effects in 'Twister'. In 'Tomb Raider 2' he is just mixing a potion of James Bond with a little bit of Indiana Jones, without too much of a result. If you did not see it yet, you may as well wait for the DVD. 6/10 on my personal scale.

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12 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
Why do so many people hate this movie?, 28 December 2003

Author: 23skidoo-4 from Calgary, Canada

Although Cradle of Life won't go down in movie history as an all-time classic, I am mystified at why so many critics and moviegoers hated it.

In my opinion, this movie is much better than the first Tomb Raider film. The first film was entertaining, make no mistake, but it still had too much of a comic book feel and 'Angelina Jolie' (qv) had not yet gotten a firm grasp of the Lara Croft role. In Cradle of Life, both Lara and Jolie show newfound maturation, and this makes her (both actress and fictional character) much more interesting to watch. Heck, even Jolie's faux British accent is more convincing the second time around. I was one of the many who protested when she was cast in the role; the first film left be unconvinced, but she finally won me over in her second outing.

The story is also more interesting in the second film, with the whole Pandora's Box angle being something more worthy of Tomb Raider than the tired old "conspiracy out to take over the world" plot of the first film.

There are some aspects of the second film that I didn't care for as much. Lara, for one thing, is far more deadlier this second time around and at one point seriously considers gunning down a man in cold blood. This type of behavior is more fitting for James Bond than Lady Lara Croft. But once I got used to the idea of Lara Croft 007, I didn't mind it so much. (Indeed, if Hollywood ever follows through with it's long-threatened female Bond film, they could do far worse than get Angelina Jolie for the role of Jane(?) Bond.)

What appealed to me in Cradle of Life is how familiar Lara, her background, and her supporting characters have become with only one previous film under their belts. No time is spent explaining who she is and why she lives in such a huge mansion (which sadly appears only briefly). This level of familiarity, of character comfort, is something I've only ever seen once before -- in the Bond series.

Cradle of Life also features some most impressive set pieces that may not necessarily advance the story, but are great to watch, such as a zoom in from outer space on Lara riding a motorcycle, an incredible zoom-in shot THROUGH the window of Croft Manor, and a great scene of Lara shooting at targets while riding a horse -- sidesaddle!

Sadly, the critical and box office failure of Cradle of Life probably guarantees no further entries in the series, and even if it does continue, Jolie looks ready to follow Audrey Hepburn's lead and put acting on the back burner in favor of humanitarian work so the role will probably go to another (possibly less talented) actress. If this turns out to be the case, I believe the Lara Croft series looks set to be remembered as fondly as the Derek Flint films of the 1960s.

Anyone who has been scared away by the bad reviews could do worse than to rent a copy from their local video store and check it out. You might be surprised at how much fun the movie is.

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16 out of 23 people found the following review useful:
Video Game Characters cannot be Brought to Hollywood Movies, 19 December 2003

Author: Jerr from Laredo

The second film was better than the first one in the sense that it relates to stories that are more accurate to the video games. However the fantasy used to create the stories of the video games does not suit very well hollywood movies. Successful video game stories turn out to be cheesie on the movies and a movie stories of video game characters are too far away from the original.

Who won on this movie? Tomb Raider fans happened to see their fantastic character finally materialized in a Hollywood star which matches most of the characteristics described in the original Lara Croft. Now the Tomb Raider video games are well known by the name of Angelina Jolie. Jolie's fans win because they have another opportunity to see her dressing outfits that remark her green eyes and very long black hair. Outfits that she would very rarely dress ever again, but that will certainly add more points to her sexy image. I saw the movie because I fell in love with the character materialized in Angelina Jolie. After seeing this film I ended up becoming a little fan of both: Lara Croft & Angelina Jolie. Something that I couldn't feel on the first film.

Some things that I believe are valuable to appreciate from this movie are: Jolie's professionalism to play scenes that are normally executed by stunts: Lara shooting from the horse, All martial arts fighting scenes, Playing those jetsky tricks, or doing the shooting when coming down from that rope, and when being elevated by the shark. All in all I think this film increased Jolie's sexy image in that unforgettable silver suit.

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31 out of 53 people found the following review useful:
Impressive stunts do not a movie make..., 26 July 2005

Author: Neil Doyle from U.S.A.

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

ANGELINA JOLIE makes the most of showing her prowess at performing stunts that any male would envy, but the showcase for her physical skills is hardly worthy of her presence. The script is as shallow as the video game it is based on and no one has much of a chance to give any depth to their characters.

As a result, even her co-star, hunky Gerard Butler with his Scottish accent, has trouble registering more than a "go through the motions" kind of performance. The chemistry between him and Jolie can only be described as "icy". Not to worry. He later steamed up the screen two years later with his Phantom role and a scorching "Point of No Return" sequence that had his female fans gasping for breath. Here, I have to report, he is sadly wasted, except for a couple of daring stunts that he and Jolie perform well together.

Ciarin Hinds, as the villain, later joined Butler for PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. He would have been more convincing here with the mustache he assumed for his Phantom character. Something is missing in his evil portrait. He just doesn't seem comfortable in the role.

Things keep moving, stunts every few minutes, explosions, gunfire, jumping off tall buildings, dazzling neon explosions, all accompanied by Alan Silvestri's booming soundtrack music. But in the end, all we have left with is a stuntathon sort of thing that is pointless in tracing the story of the search for Pandora's Box and the quest for an orb. It's cliffhanger stuff for the mindless and that's about all.

Not worth two hours of viewing time and the ending is rather lame.

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8 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Pretty people in pretty places doing impossible things----, 12 May 2005

Author: Ishallwearpurple from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

With tongue firmly in cheek, the story of this film is a series of preposterous events, but what are we to expect of a game made into a movie? Angelina Jolie is Lady Lara Croft, and is stunning in her skin tight gray diving suit. Ciaran Hinds (Phantom Of The Opera) is the villain, a scientist bent on getting his hands on the Pandora's box containing the essence of all evil, in order to rule the world. Lara is having none of that, and enlists her former partner Terry Sheridan (Gerard Butler - The Phantom) to help find it and keep it away from evil doers.

There are some wonderful set pieces throughout the film as with the underwater temple; Lara arriving at the boat to start the expedition on a jet ski (wowser!); the shark to the rescue (huh?); the sub to the rescue (double huh?). More: at the Croft mansion the kung fu; the sidesaddle horse riding while shooting at targets (wow!); at the prison getting Terry released - her in her white fur amid all that filth; Terry doing pull ups dripping sweat; Terry looking down from his bars saying "Croft" in just the right way to let us know this is one dangerous hombre. And his devastating comment to Lara "I AM Charming" and isn't he just? The motorcycle race between Lara and Terry across the great wall in China was fun. Him telling her "don't look at my ass" as they climb a hill was cute and funny.

The famous sex scene is so reversed - she is the one in charge and he ends up her prey and victim - is one for the books. Nice eye candy for all of us out here in the real world.

That's the good stuff. There are some strange choices made by the director (or whoever?) A wedding celebration on the edge of a precipice to show the quake at the beginning? Lots of money for what purpose - didn't add anything for me. The upside-down gunfight as Lara and Terry escape once again. Sorry, the thrill is gone and it bombed.

Simon Chow is good and in his Hong Kong films a real menace - but here was wasted. Croft running up the car shooting - a la Chow Yun Fat in some of his 1980's films - is blatant 'borrowing.' All the shooting out of glass in the office building - a la "Die Hard" - been there done that.

AND!!! What is with the Shadow Guardians in the last fourth of film. We go from sort of realism filtered through game playing mentality into science fiction. Blech! Lame! Cinematography is gorgeous and some of the sound track music is fine. Overall a more good than bad - 7/10

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8 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
A Breezy, Fun Movie, 18 August 2003

Author: CitizenCaine from Las Vegas, Nevada

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

This is a breezy, fun movie. Angelina Jolie is perfect in this repeat role. I never saw the first movie. As a result of the first film and recent entertainment, similar lead female action movies are in the works. Halle Berry's character, Jinx, from Die Another Day and Jennifer Garner's Electra from Daredevil are two possibilities. This follows the Hollywood trend of copying, rather than creating anew. The male characters support Angelina well, in what she has to do, but serve as eye candy too. I love her outfits! The movie is very much modeled on James Bond movies: exotic, multiple villains; electronic gadgets; multiple modes of transportation and locales; multiple shoot-outs and explosions; witty dialog (at times); and topical plot developments. I'll admit I only saw this movie because the other two on the bill were worse choices in my book: Bad Boys 2 and American Wedding. The whole "cradle of life" thing was intriguing at first, but became very lame and out of place in this movie for me. It's always a big mistake for action fare, particularly similar to this movie, to try to send a message or say something profound. However, this movie had just the right combination of action, plot, colorful characters, brains & beauty (courtesy of Ms. Jolie). Girl power rules! *** of 4 stars.

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16 out of 26 people found the following review useful:
Quite good, indeed., 24 August 2003

Author: Tim Keenan from Long Island, NY

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.

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