R E V I E W S

Tomb Raider (2001)

Starring: Angelina Jolie, Jon Voight, Daniel Craig, Ian Glen, Leslie Phillips
Director: Simon West
Rating: PG-13

Studio: Paramount

Review Posted: 6.13.01

Rating: 3/4

By Angelo.

Straight from video game fame, Lara Croft is brought to life on the big screen to put more fire in this summer's box-office flame.  Rife with special effects and little humanity, "Tomb Raider" would seem like an easy target for nasty criticism, as was justifiably done to the horrific "The Mummy Returns".  However, "Tomb Raider" rises above the challenge and becomes a rather silly yet surprisingly delightful adventure.

If Indiana Jones were ever to be a woman, he would be nobody else but Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie).  She's a well to do adventurer who exudes physical and mental dexterity, while being sexy at the same time.  Like her father (Jon Voight), she searches for archaeological treasures all over the globe to benefit humanity and for personal satisfaction.

Realizing that the world is going through an important astrological event that only occurs once every five thousand years (all the planets in our solar system aligning with the sun), Lara needs to locate the two halves of an ancient artifact, the "Triangle of Light".  Whoever puts these pieces together at the exact moment of the planetary eclipse would have godlike powers to control space and time.  In a race to prevent a secret society from getting hold of the artifact, Lara must now beat them to it and save the world from the evil that they can unleash.

First and foremost, "Tomb Raider" is a popcorn flick.  It is not meant to be a philosophical treatise, but just a movie to entertain and dazzle us with special effects and breathtaking fight scenes.  "Tomb Raider" delivers, although not always successfully, but enough to be enjoyed and recommended.  Choreographed fights are abundant, and some are actually well done, as the scene where Lara is tethered to the ceiling while acrobatically fending off intruders.  Traces of a video game are also amusingly evident, like when the big bad guy comes out and you have to shoot it a million times to get to the next level.

Indeed, it is very difficult not to compare "Tomb Raider" to "The Mummy Returns".  The former is an example of a good popcorm movie, while the latter is a poor excuse for one.  These two boast action, adventure and fanciful tales, but what differentiates them is the level of annoying stupidity; the rolling eyes factor.  "The Mummy Returns" is peppered with lame dialogue and populated with imbeciles, but "Tomb Raider" is smarter than that.  It keeps dialogues to a minimum, and just says what needs to be said, focusing more on what it does best, the adventure.  In addition, all the characters are likable, and this really helps.

Angelina Jolie is perfect for the role of Lara Croft.  I don't think there is any other young actress out there that exhibits such confidence and agility.  She has good screen presence and it shows.

"Tomb Raider" entertains for the most part and will probably be one of the not-so-bad summer blockbusters.  It is a fun and enjoyable game....oops movie, that won't leave you feeling cheated.

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