Angelina Jolie Movie:

Editorial Review:
Like the video game series it's based on, Tomb Raider is best enjoyed for its physical strategies, since even casual scrutiny of story details will induce a headache. It's more concerned with puzzles than plot, populated with characters that don't have personalities so much as attitudes. It's silly and somber at the same time, but as a franchise vehicle for Angelina Jolie in the title role of relic hunter Lara Croft, this is packaged entertainment at its most agreeable, ambitious in scope and scale, and filled with the kind of globetrotting adventure that could make Jolie the best thing that's happened to action movies since Indiana Jones. Could being the operative word here, because Tomb Raider can't match any of Steven Spielberg's celebrated joyrides, but the ingredients are there for an exquisitely cinematic meal.

Perhaps to distance himself from Lara Croft's video game origins, director Simon West takes things a bit too seriously; Tomb Raider handles its plot (involving a planetary alignment, the nefarious Illuminati, and coveted relics that hold the key to controlling the flow of time) with all the gravity of a championship chess match... minus the tension. If the movie had lightened up and been truly suspenseful (instead of being suffused with been-there, done-that familiarity), it would have been an instant popcorn classic. As it is, however, this is an elegantly mounted adventure featuring exotic locations (in Cambodia and Iceland) and an exotic star born for her role. Even without her padded bra, Jolie would be the living embodiment of Lara Croft, and that's enough to bode well for inevitable sequels. --Jeff Shannon

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider [Region 2] Reviews:
I Am Not Going to Lie, She Kicks Butt!
2008-09-29 - Although Angelina Jolie's British accent could have been a little more convincing, this is just another movie that proves she is great actress. And of course I couldn't resist enjoying this high action packed, girl-power, butt*-kicking movie!

Angelina Jolie plays Laura Croft, the mysterious, sexy, tough girl whose life career is tomb raiding (I mean who isn't a tomb raider now-a-day?). After showing off Angelina's on screen fighting capabilities, we begin our story with the character of Laura mourning over the anniversary of her father's death (which is indeed played by her real father, Jon Voight). At night, Laura is awoken from a dream by the ticking of a clock, which in fact conceals a sort of key that counts down to the exact time at which all planets in our solar system will align. When trying to figure all this information out, she runs into our villain, Mr. Powell (played by Iain Glen), who is chasing after the clock as well. The clock inevitably unlocks the secret to controlling time, and both Laura and Mr. Powell continue on their journey to collect two pieces of a tablet that are needed do so. This takes them to places such as a temple in Cambodia (also the birthplace of Angelina Jolie's first adopted child!) and leads Laura to discovering not only more about the dangers surrounding this tablet and its abilities, but also more secrets about her father and his death.

I must admit, when it came to our villain, Mr. Powell, his part could have used some work (some cheesy lines here and there). It is what it is though, an entertaining action movie, where the girl is the hero for once! I thought Angelina Jolie was the perfect fit for this part, and defiantly kicked some butt in the action scenes. Also when you watch the extras on the dvd, you can see first hand the amount of time and effort Angelina puts into the role and it really shows in this movie! I understand that the movie is a bit older now, but it's worth looking into and a great addition to anyone's action-packed collection!

No-brainer
2008-09-05 - There's so much less to Tomb Raider than meets the eye. Despite Jolie's pneumatic efforts, the whole film falls dramatically to pieces after even a moment's consideration. Here's the thing: if Lara's dad wants to stop the triangle being rebuilt so that its destructive power won't be unleashed on the world, and it requires the clock to get hold of the triangle, why does he tell Lara where the clock is in the first place? Furthermore, if two parts of this artefact are necessary to make it work, Lara surely doesn't need to destroy both. Why doesn't she just destroy the first part when she gets it, as this would make the second part useless? Thirdly, when we find out finally that the triangle needs a further part, where is it? Inside the clock, of course. Surely this begs the question, why not just destroy the piece inside the clock, which Richard Croft actually had in his possession, thus rendering the triangle inoperative? The fact that Bryce watches the Clangers was the only thing that stopped this movie being a total waste of time.

Better than I remembered.
2008-08-24 - After finding this, and its sequel, in my collection, much to my surprise because I don't remember owning them or wanting to own them, I decided to re-watch them.

To my surprise, I found them more palatable than the first time around, though this one still inferior to the second one.

Perhaps it's because I came to the film again with litte or no expectations, as opposed to when I saw it at a sneak preview with huge expectations (despite never playing the game). It could be that this is literally the first role I saw Daniel Craig in (Road to Perdition being the second). It amused the hell out of me that American Angelina Jolie used a British accent and British Daniel Craig used an American one (better than Jolie's).

There is still more humor and quirkiness in Lara's inherited Butler and beyond quirky boy-Friday who creates all her wonderful toys in addition to computer hacking with ease. At this point, I can't help but feel that Jolie simply hadn't gotten comfortable with her character as well as she did in the second.

Still, she pulls off the high-action skills with grace, emotes well when it comes to her dead father (ironically played by her real father, absent most of Jolie's life and then banished not long after this when he announced to the world he thought she was in serious psychological danger when in fact she was at the point that left Billy Boy and cutting behind and had become a U.N. Goodwill Ambassador and adopted her first child). Her constant, "Hmmm," and head-cock when confronted with something that surprises her even has become less-grating and more endearing now.

For those who have seen it and panned it, give it a second go. For those who haven't, approach it with the thought to not expect too much out of it, and you'll find it can be pretty fun. As it is, I had to go raise my previous rating from 3 stars to 4 stars.

"I Woke Up This Morning And Just Hated Everything" ~ A Pleasurable Torment Indeed
2008-06-16 - In '01 the immensely popular video game featuring the voluptuous, computer generated Lara Croft was transformed into a major Hollywood film starring the extremely sexy Angelina Jolie, The film `Lara Croft - Tomb Raider' is a slick, tongue-in-cheek action/adventure ala Indiana Jones that succeeds in entertaining its audience with exotic locations, superior special effects, numerous action sequences and the lovely Angelina Jolie to keep the viewer focused. The dialogue is also well thought out containing lots of memorable little quips one can store away for personal use at a later date.

Lots of fun provided for a high energy evening so fasten your seat belts!

It's boring.
2008-06-09 - The film is boring. There's not exciment and no suspense. The plot is like that of a video game. I mean there's nothing original. The worst thing is the special effects. In many scenes, I can see clearly that the settings are fake.