Rating: Summary: Better than the original????? NOT! Review: I could swallow a review calling this movie the best action film since DIE HARD or SPEED (ah, Jan De Bonts fluke---a great film) before I can swallow another calling it better than the original. REGARDLESS of what you think either film, I don't see how this can be considered better than the first.Okay, the filmmakers DID acknowledge that the first film had little in the way of character developement or drama. Thats better than this film, which has human drama, BAD human drama. BAD! The plot involving Lara and the-guy-whose-name-I-dont-care-to-remember was suffocating. Former lovers with sexual undercurrents throughout their adventures??? YAWN? How about the whole let-the-criminal-out-of-prison-to-hunt-the-bad-guy thing? Yeah..... AGAIN! Speaking of bad guys, Lara Croft Tomb Raider The Cradle of Life has a pathetic one. It takes serious acting talent to pull off the a prim and proper British bad guy (in other words, a complete pansy), something that this man doesn't have. At least movies like UNDERWORLD, XXX, and BAD BOYS II had the decency to give us bad guys with long, greasy hair and unshaven mugs to give them some credibility. Not even a shark can save this film. Usually, when in doubt and the setting involves the ocean, you can throw in a shark attack to spice things up, like in the Bond films. This time we have a pathetic CG tiger shark that easily be punched in the face to be stopped. I realize that the shark's nose is a sensitive area, but what Lara does is impossible in the physical universe. Not exciting, not stylish, DEFINATELY not compelling, and not funny, this film is far from the first, but in the opposite direction that most think. Simon West might not know diddly about human drama, but at least he acknowleged this and instead focused on what he was good at: action and style. Better than this pretentious mess of cliches and banality.
Rating: Summary: WELL THE TRAILER MADE IT LOOK GOOD Review: I changed my mind about what dvd I wanted for valentines day-and I chose Lara Croft 2 instead of Disturbing Behavior-how I wish I would of stuck with Disturbing Behavior! Lara Croft 2 isnt what I thought it would be-there was not enough action scenes in it-and that guy with the scottish voice-is it me or did it sound english throughout the movie-not like hes a great actor anyways! And it was also too short! It seems the merchandise for this movie is lame-the book was lame-the soundtrack is lame-I even took down my poster cause I sure as lobster didnt wanna look at that anymore! I dont think I will be watching the first one either-if you want to watch a good action movie-watch T3 Rise of the machines-at least that was entertaing-and not boring like Lara Croft! Im gonna give this dvd and all my Lara Croft 2 merchandise to my sister-at least she will like it! So dont bother watching this one-unless you wanna be bored-I was watching the extras then decided to shut it off! Or watch The Italian Job instead-much more fun!
Rating: Summary: Only because of Angelina Review: The only reason I hope this film gets positive reviews anywhere is so that another is made with a better director. I might be alone in that I believe that the first film was better than the second. Basically--my opinion is based solely on the action scenes. I wanted more from the dialogue and more scenes with her housemates as well though. The intro for the first was more explosive. The bungee cord melee in the mansion that leads into the garage was much more fun to watch than any of the riding on the Great Wall or the rapelling face first down a cliff. Then you have the entire scene in the hall with the statues that come to life, where Lara is shooting and sword--fighting. Maybe I need to see this film on DVD but Cradle of Life had too few scenes where Lara could have unloaded her arsenal of cool moves---but didn't. I did like the notion of the play between her and Clive Owen. For her character it was a nice subplot to see lara's emotional side---(basically to see who she is without being a hardcore ass-kicking superstar). I'll never miss a chance to watch Angelina Jolie on the big screen, or in the role of Lara Croft, basically I'm hoping a third film is the perfect blend of the action from the first with the scenery from the second. Two cents.
Rating: Summary: Execrable Review: This film, like the first, was so bad I only watched it because it came on cable free and there was literally nothing else on and I had the flu. I'm reviewing it so I can crank the overall rating down a bit - I respect those whose opinions differ from mine on the film, but I'd feel terrible is some sucker actually read the reviews and thought "gee, sounds good - I'll buy it" based on them. Here's my kick to the rating.
Angelina Jolie, who can act when she chooses to, goes through all the motions. A film this silly shouldn't take itself too seriously, and this one tries not to, but the cliches are huge and the wit nonexistant. Even the set-pieces got boring. Films made from video games suffer no matter what, but this was just sad.
Lara Croft has a great backstory vis-a-vis the game. The studio could have made a great "female Raiders" film, and instead they came out with a spandex-wearing, emotionless, witless goofball who fights James-Bond-ish cartoon baddies. Her hijinks with the baddies and her support staff staff made the original Batman and Robin ("WHAM!") look slick - at least they had camp. This film is a soulless excercise in licensing.
Save the money. Borrow a friends copy on a slow TV night and take NyQuil before viewing. You won't be able to pay attention for long before the drugs kick in, but that's ok.
Rating: Summary: not great... but fun Review: I viewed the first tomb raider movie to be just another piece of video-game-gone-hollywood crap. So I never bothered seeing it. I wouldn't have bothered seeing the second one either, if it wasnt that I was bored and nothing else good was on PPV. While my prejudices to Lara's incarnation on-screen weren't completely wrong, I did end up finding Cradle of Life to be a very enjoyable, all-be-it commercialized, movie. Cradle of life has the sexy Angelina Jolie returning as the hottest broad to ever grace a video game console - Lara Croft. Lara on the big screen is even more amazing than her character in the games, as she comes off as some sort of genetic splicing of a Master Ninja, Indiana Jones, and a Navy Seal. While not quite believable and a little over-done, it works well in context of the movie. Lara reunites with an old ex, to go after the real life Pandora's Box, which is supposed to contain not only the secrets of the universe, but some really bad juju to say the least. While the plot attempts to explain the box and it's contents as a sort of plague (thus a bioweapons dealer is also looking for it) it also encorperates supernatural/meta physical sorts of things such as the shadow creatures gaurding it. This confused me a bit, but didnt detract too much as I wasnt expecting an ingenious plot here to begin with. The acting is generally good, although I may have just been distracted by Jolies hypnotic eyes which always seem to have that "I want to rip your clothes off" look on them. No doubt Lara is pleasing to look at, but her portrayal in the movie gives an likable quality, something like a female james bond (she also has lots of gadgets so...) The action in Cradle of Life is pretty intense and there's no shortage of over the top fight scenes and abundant special effects as is oh so typical of modern mainstream action films. While no one part of this movie is all that good, none are outright terrible either. The style of the film is something like what you might expect if the Iniana Jones series and Mission Impossible 2 had children together. The whole package adds up to be a decent movie, that while it will hopefully never win an oscar, it was a pretty good time to watch... once.
Rating: Summary: What a disapointment.... Review: When I saw Lara croft: Tomb Raider the first one, I wonder that it's sequel would be spectacular...2003 arrived and Cradle of Life was released... I could'nt believe in what i saw... what a miserable piece of movie!!!! No action, horrible direction, even worst script... The only thing that I enjoyed when I was watching this crap was the Goddes Angelina Jolie, in that tight neoprem clothe....anyway, she is the only reason for you to see this film...
Rating: Summary: Absolute Hollywood Garbage! Review: Tomb Raider 2 has got to be one of the worst pieces of garbage I have had befoul my DVD player. The script has no thought whatsoever and is utterly predictable. Not to mention it seems to drag on for what seems like an eternity. The characters are paper thin, reminiscent of old MacGyver and A Team episodes. This movie is nothing more than a comic book with lots of cheesy special effects. This is just Hollywood trying to be trendy and cool. Sure, Angelina Jolie looks good, but that's about it for this movie! Instead, rent an adult film. At least that way you might have a plot! If your looking for a movie that requires more thought capacity than the average 3 year old, LOOK ELSEWHERE!
Rating: Summary: Great movie! Great Fun! Review: Great Movie ! Really have enjoyed it! Angelina Jolie looks hot! The Action was great.The plot was good. I recommended this in addition to Charlie's Angels 2.
Rating: Summary: What an improvement!!! Review: Whoever was her speach coach should get an award. Her fake English accent was so much more better the second time around. I enjoyed the movie and it was fun. ***Bias*** I think she's hot. As long as the movie around her didn't suck all too bad, I was going to be content. Movie didn't suck too bad. Plot was pretty much Standard Operating Procedure so it was about what I expected.
Rating: Summary: Angelina Jolie is a Beautiful Lara Croft Review: Angelina Jolie reprises her role as the great Lara Croft Tomb Raider in this action sequel. Lara is a beautiful British archaeologist /heroine/adventurer. She can find any lost antiquity in the world and can kick butt better than James Bond. In this film Lara is in search of Alexander the Great's ancient Luna Temple in Greece. Alexander used the temple to store many of his treasures from his vast conquests, but now it is hundreds of feet under water. Upon locating the Luna Temple, Lara finds an unusual orb. Immediately, the orb is stolen from her by a gang of Chinese black market thieves who followed her to the location. MI-6 (British CIA) contracts Lara to retrieve the orb before it falls into the hands of an international bio-terrorist who wants to use the orb as a map to locate the cradle of life which houses the mystical pandora's box. The box possesses the most deadly of viruses that can kill millions instantly. With the aid of an old boyfriend Lara sneaks into China to steal the orb. Along with her staff she decodes the orb's secret to finding the location of the cradle of life. This film has many daredevil type stunts that anyone can appreciate. The most amazing being the drop off a high rise building in Hong Kong. The special effects used to create the monster like characters that protect the cradle of life are very original. The scenery is magnificent.
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