Rating: Summary: Very good, but could have been so much more Review: I liked this movie very much but I really think it could have been so much more. With very little changes, i think this could have been more *indiana jones* and less video game... I think the characters were all too much like the ones in a game...flat. While they were certainly quirky and had potential I never got to the point that I really cared about (or against) any of them all that much. The characters in the indiana jones movies all seemed to sparkle to me...The tomb raider characters never seemed to quite get *there*.That said...it was a fun, escape movie and heavy on the action. Interesting special effects but nothing that was overly distracting. I thought the end climactic segment was a bit loose... But overall I am glad I saw it at the movies on a large screen...altho a large screen TV with a good sound system would be good too. I think they have a solid beginning for a series of tomb raider movies. I hope that they work on the characters. There can only be so much action before you have to actually care about the people.
Rating: Summary: Great Game Movie Review: Anything that has been released into a movie form, that originally was a comic book or video game, usually have great story lines. Well, this movie rocked! I have watched it a couple of times, and I haven't fallen asleep or read a book. You have to like action movies to enjoy this one. There is no real drama behind the movie. If anyone says something bad about this movie, it is most likely that they did not even see it.
Rating: Summary: Your typical action film Review: Instead of your typical pumped full of steroids male, you get the very svelte, toned & very female, Angelina Jolie, playing the computer game heroine. Making a computer game into a film has not always been well accepted in cinemas - for example, Mortal Kombat & Resident Evil - but this one is a sure-fire hit for the studio. Had they not picked Angelina, it might not have been that good. I can't see it being good without her. You really can't imagine anyone else in that role now. She's taken it and made it hers. Apart from the physical attributes she brings to the role (put the tongues away guys), she also manages to speak very well in an English accent, which actors have failed to do so in the past. (Think Keanu Reeves in 'Bram Stoker's Dracula' or Tom Cruise's pitiful excuse for an Irish accent in 'Far & Away') Angelina has been well known for her tattoos, so the studio probably weren't that keen on her for the role, because of the difficulty make-up artists would have had covering them up. None of them can be seen during the film - particularly the well-known 'Billy Bob' tattoo on her left arm. It's not easy to cover up tattoos, and sure, some of her tattoos are in parts of her body which wouldn't be shown on film, but that 'Billy Bob' tattoo must have been HELL for makeup artists every day. The CGI & the set are extremely similar to 'The Mummy' and 'The Mummy Returns', and all three films obviously take their inspiration from the Indiana Jones movies. There's not as much action or violence as I expected in this film, I expected a lot more. There are bursts of violence, interspersed with strange scenes, with a haunting/pounding soundtrack. The use of guns is big in this film, shooting the strange CGI, or shooting bad guys - none of whom seem seriously hurt! I know he's dead in the film, but Jon Voight, as Lara's father (and also her father in real life!), should have had a bigger role. He's only really seen at the start, opposite a young actress playing a young Lara Croft, and then at the end, playing opposite his real-life daughter. If you're a fan of Red Dwarf, look out for Chris Barrie (Rimmer), in the very Batman butler role of Henry. I didn't expect to enjoy this movie, but as I like Angelina Jolie as an actress, I thought I'd give it a go. It's very fast paced, the time flies by and before you know it, it's over. I'm glad I bought it now.
Rating: Summary: Best since Mario Review: The story-line and characters aren't as well developed as in the video game, but the graphics are every bit as good, if not better!!! Angelina Jolie must've done extensive research on how a video character acts. She captured the personality of Laura Croft perfectly by speaking in a monotone with a blank expression on her face throughout the movie's duration.(How come no second Oscar nomination?!!) After the fickle tastes of movie-goers caused Super Mario Brothers the movie to bomb, I was concerned that this genre was DOA. With the success of Tomb Raider I am again optimistic that video game movies are alive and flourishing. I only hope that someday I might see Q-Bert on the big screen. I'm sure I'm not the only hard-core fan who has wondered for years what secret from Q-Bert's past led him to a life of jumping from one cube to another.
Rating: Summary: Action and adventure galore - plot? what plot? Review: Yes, it's a light-headed, silly, plot-addled movie. Yes, it doesn't adhere rigidly to the game. Yes, Angelina Jolie is fantastic in this movie - they couldn't have cast it better if they tried. You mean there were other actors in this movie????? Didn't notice them. Yes, I enjoyed it immensely. The action sequences were comparable to any Indiana Jones movie, and the sets were incomparable to anything. What's more, it was quick and painless, and above all entertaining on a shallow level, so very relaxing when you need a break. Yes, I'll be buying the sequel as soon as it comes out. Yes, so should you.
Rating: Summary: Well Done Review: This film is a perfect example that a video game can be successfully translated to movies. Lara has a soul and so does the film. She's merciful to her aggressors and those who realize this, they side with her. She isn't a cardboard cutout and unlike The Punisher and The Shadow, the character and films by the same name long forgotten.
Rating: Summary: Left me wanting more! Review: As pleased as I was by Angelina's performance as an action star - I completely found her believable as a gun-toting English woman - and the action overall, somehow I found the movie not completely satisfying. The plot was just a little too simplistic. Lara Croft has to find something that gives her control over time before the bad guys do so she can talk with her father, whom she lost as a child. The bad guys belong to a conspiracy known as The Illuminati. As it turns out, Croft's father also belonged, and this is why he's able to give her one of the keys to the device. She must get a few others though, and this leads her to remote parts of the world. The movie feels like one long chase scene. My favorite action bit was the very beginning as Lara works out with a robot programmed to kill her, just for practice. The action is great, special effects are terrific, so I'm not sure why I can't give this movie 5 stars. It's not something I can put into words. I purchased the DVD in order to look at the special features - it has a great documentary on the making of, which I really enjoyed, but I doubt I'll be watching this movie more than 2 or 3 times. I'm definitely looking forward to the sequal though. I think with the success from the first film they'll be able to get better screenwriters and even more funds for greater stunts. Then they'll really have a winner!
Rating: Summary: 3 1/2 Star Average? Moral: T&A can disguise a bad movie Review: A friend brought this movie over the other day. Let me sum this movie up. 1) Angelina Jolie gets in a new outfit and slinks around to techno music for 5 minutes. 2) Rinse, repeat. Throw in a shower scene to distract the audience from the fact that if they cut out all of the slow motion catwalk clothes modeling the movie would be 30 minutes shorter. The best part was when they do the same slow motion techno blah blah when they are showing the tomb raiding convoy drive across a frozen tundra in their jeeps.
Rating: Summary: DISAPPOINTING EFFORT Review: Let me clarify...I am giving the movie itself 2 stars and the DVD package 3 1/2 stars. Based on the popular video game series, which I am a fan, the movie falls well short of capturing the excitement of the game. First and foremost..there is VERY little actual "tomb raiding" that happens in the movie. I mean, where is the exploration of long forgotten pyramids, temples, loaded with traps and creatures, that made the games so fun? Second, the plots of the games were always pretty flimsy, but even those were deeper than the movie. And I really could have done without the sappy romance angle as well as the angle with Croft's deceased father. That all said, Jolie is great as Lara Croft. I think she does capture the look and spirit. The scene involving her battle with the burglars in her mansion was the film's highlight for me. Very exciting and well done. Hopefully the sequel will be much improved. The excellent bonus material makes my score a bit higher than the actual movie score.
Rating: Summary: Hubba-Hubba Review: Once in a review, Roger Ebert side that the best way to critisize a movie is to make another movie, ans that, in that respect, SHANGHAI NOON was the answer WILD WILD WEST. HE was sure right. SHANGHAI NOON was the pick of the litter out of those two films, easily one of the best of 2000. So, in that respect, TOMB RAIDER is the answer to CHARLIES ANGELS. The movie opens with a scene that's destined to go down in action film history, as Lady Lara Croft (The beautiful Angelina Jolie) battles with a robot during a training session for her adventures. One night, she discovers clock hidden in the Croft mansion. It turns out that the clock is a key that will lead the holder to the two separate halves of the Triangle of Light, an artifact that can give the user "the Power of God". The Illuminati are a secret society who want to rule the world, so they steal the clock so they can find the Triangle. Lara goes into the jungles of India after them. Can Lara Croft stop the Illuminati before they get ahold of the Triangle and stop them before the balance of the universe is irrepairably thrown out of whack? Angelina Jolie is said to be the next female action star, and that's good, since we have kind of a vacuum in the genre lately and we could stand to add a few more, so why not make her female?As Lara Croft, she is a fearless adventurer who never gives up, always gets the prize, and packs a mean punch. Jolie's acting skills are quite good as well. I don't think I've ever heard a more realistic British accent (except, of course, from actual Brits.) If Lara Croft is this generations Indiana Jones, that makes me feel satisfied, since she can always tell when a man's lying (what lawyer studies clocks as a hobby?), she can bunjee jump through her own house without even breaking a sweat, and looks good in leather. Okay, I not gonna be the gawking male chauvenist, it's just that she's really attractive, and I'm a guy. What'd you expect? Being the big action fan that I am, I did really get a kick out of this movie. It has a lot of action, great scenery (I've always wanted to go to India.), and has to be one of the best movie adapted from a video game ever. It's just as good as STREET FIGHTER, RESIDENT EVIL, MORTAL KOMBAT, and MORTAL KOMBAT:ANNHILATION. Ultimately, what makes it btter than CHARLIES ANGELS is that it not only treats it's female star with more dignity (granted, she does have a nude scene, but in CHARLIES ANGELS, they're forced to YODLE!!!!!), it also only has one girl that we have to keep up with. And I'm willing to bet that by herself, Lara could whup the Angels butts. This is the female lead action movie to see, and I can't wait for TOMB RAIDER:CRADLE OF LIFE, cause Lara Croft rules!!! And I'd just like to say, Angelina, you are such a babe.
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