Rating: 
Summary: Worst summer blockbuster ever? For me, at least.
Review: Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is an amalgamation of everything it is I hate about summer movies. It's lifeless, soulless, crafted without the slightest care towards genuine enjoyment, and serves as nothing more than a springboard for a charisma-free star. I'm still flabbergasted over the irony that the inspiration for the existence of this movie was Indiana Jones, the trilogy that represents the summer blockbuster at its very best.Tomb Raider boasts something of a plot, but actually deciphering it is a puzzle. Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie) is apparently some sort of rich archaeologist, and her latest personal mission is to search for two artifacts that, if placed together, can somehow enable the user to control time. Naturally, there are going to be a lot of villains who seek the same device. General incomprehensibility of the plot aside, the aspect that makes Tomb Raider the turd that it is is Lara Croft, both in the way this character is written and through Jolie's portrayal. Here is a heroine who thinks she's just uber-cool, riding motorcycles, wearing slick shades, acting cocky and arrogant, to the point of pure abrasiveness. This is not to mention that she's also able to accomplish physically implausible to impossible stunts, and is also apparently invincible in combat, and almost impervious to pain. What kind of a heroine is this? It's hard enough to like someone who spends most of her time trying to act superior to almost everyone around her (the movie does give a half-hearted attempt to show her respect for other cultures, this brief scene totally overshadowed by her "coolness"), but the filmmakers do away with even the slightest bit of suspense by making Croft apparently invulnerable to harm in all her surroundings. Part of what made Indiana Jones so charming were his numerous flaws: he was afraid of snakes, often got captured by the villains, and was vulnerable in combat (he got beat up a LOT). This is in stark contrast with Croft, who's really nothing more than a superhero without the villain to match her. Some of this could be forgiveable if the movie were in any way fun or exciting, but it's not. The action sequences are few in number, and what little there are are rapid-cut and packed with one impossible stunt too many. The movie's adventure holds no ebb and flow, Croft simply gets from one location to another in a second of screen time. It's not impossible to make an enjoyable Indiana Jones knock-off. Stephen Sommers' The Mummy accomplished the task with exuberance and childish glee. But Simon West merely gave us little more than a case of eyestrain.
1/2 out of *****
Rating: 
Summary: Here's hoping for a good sequel
Review: Tomb Raider is a good idea. It's always been a good idea, and so when I see it in the video game store or playing at the cineplex, I want to try it out, because it's such a good idea. Unfortunately, a good idea isn't everything, and no Tomb Raider product has ever fully capitalized on the "idea" of Tomb Raider, and this movie is a prime example. For roughly 100 minutes, we watch Lara Croft chase after some guy, blow stuff up, fight supernatural beings, and blah-blah-blah... why don't I care? Because she's an adventurer, but in this film, all she does is follow the bad guy. If you want to watch Angelina Jolie for 100 minutes, this film is good for that, so give it a rental. Just like with the video game series, I'll keep waiting for a sequel that truly capitalizes on the good idea of Tomb Raider.
Rating:
Summary: I hope The Cradle of Life is better...
Review: This movie is sad. The action is cool but farfetched, the woman is attractive, and the story is alright. But not the overall movie. For one, it is too short. The story is about an archaeologist Lora Craft (the feminine Indiana Jones) who discovers a clock that when put in a special tomb during the planetary alignment gives man the power to control time. Croft must beat any evil force to it for it could be used for destruction. She also wants to see her father again. But when she does, he tells her not to use the device anymore. YAWN! No twists, no turns, and the movie heavily lacks gore. I can't take too much blood, but this is another RoboCop 3! Rent it before buying or even better see it on HBO or SHO or whatever movie channel you have. You'll be doing yourself a favor.
Rating: 
Summary: 2.6 out of 5
Review: In late 2000, it was official: video game legend "Tomb Raider" was to be adapted in to a major motion picture. Fans rejoiced as they learned that sexy superstar Angelina Jolie would play the title role - what more could you possibly want? The end result is LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER. Jolie plays Lara Croft, a female Indiana Jones who is basically the same. (The only big difference is she has a mansion, while he had a small house) Racing against time and battling against an array of enemies (including a few creatures), Croft teams with ex Alex West (Daniel Craig) to recover an ancient artifact which allows it's users to travel through time. Therefor, it would be pretty bad in the enemy's hands. It's up to tightly-dressed, well-armed Ms. Croft to save the day while she kicks the enemy's ass. First of all, let me say that I went into the theater expecting an "updated", more modern version of Indiana Jones. I came out with a completely different version of the film. While sporting some nice action scenes, TOMB RAIDER is unfortunately not much more than a showcase for star Jolie (not that I mind...). There is fair directing, fair acting, fair just about everything except for a really nice techno soundtrack. If you don't expect an action/adventure film with Spielberg's direction and fun, then you'll be okay. Video gamers will love it, but most everyone else will say "Tomb Raider? Oh, that was okay". And that's that.
Rating: 
Summary: What were you expecting? 3.5 Stars
Review: As a serious Tomb Raider fan I hesitated a long while to see this movie so as not to have my illusions shattered. I finally gave in and borrowed the movie, enjoyed it, watched it twice in two days and will buy it along with the second one. I don't think Tomb Raider deserved anywhere near the lashing it received. It's a movie based on a computer game. What exactly were people expecting? The movie was lots of fun to watch, the sets were right on and Angelina Jolie made a great Croft in my opinion. Was the plot line exemplary? No. Was the character development there? No. Is it going to be up for an Academy Award? No. But it had all the attitude, and all the action. I enjoyed Resident evil and I love Indianna Jones. If you like those, you'll enjoy Tomb Raider. And compared to Resident Evil, which had absolutely no story line or character development (again, a movie based on a computer game where you kill zombies, okay, who needs a story line?) Tomb Raider is a classic. It's a fun movie. Take it at face value, relax and enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: The Answer
Review: I finally figured out why so many Tomb Raider fans hated this movie. Usually, when movies are based on comic books or video games the general public will hate them. Just like they did with Tomb Raider. But it shocked me to find out so many of the fans also hated it. The only excuse I found was "The only way it related to Tomb Raider was the title." I didn't understand this. It has Lara Croft looking, talking and acting in the exact way she does in the games. She raids tombs like she does in the games. Everything seemed perfect to me. So what was different? Why didn't the fans like it? The answer is Lara's father. In the game Lara's parents disown her and Lara makes her fortune on her own. In the movie Lara's father loves her and is killed on an adventure. That's it. That's why this movie was trashed so badly. Can you believe it? I've played all the Tomb Raider games and even I didn't pick up on that difference because it's so minuscule. It's like Batman fans not liking the Batman movies because the bat symbol on his chest was a half inch too small. It's this kind of nit picking that completely ruins the movie going experience. Tomb Raider is an excellent old fashion adventure movie and if people would take it for what it is then it would get the respect it deserves. But with people picking apart every frame of film that will never happen.
Rating:
Summary: 3.5 stars. Not a "bad" movie...
Review: ...but nothing spectacular. You'll like it if you liked the Indiana Jones films; it's a good adventure and it never becomes completely boring, but it does have its moments. I found myself dozing in the theater when I saw it. It's a good adventure flick, though, with lots of action, a good cast, a good plot and good acting. Rent it before buying though; it's not for everybody.
Rating:
Summary: Angelina is a force on screen, but based on a video game?
Review: Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) Angelina Jolie, John Voight, Noah Taylor, Iain Glen, Daniel Craig, Richard Johnson, Leslie Phillips, D: Simon West. Jolie plays the title heroine, a tough British aristocratic adventurer-basically a female Indiana Jones-living in a vast country manor, and by following the instructions of her late father (Voight, Jolie's dad in real life) she must attain the second half piece to unite it with an Egyptian artifact during a planetary alignment that will give its possessor the power to control time. Garish action sequences and elaborate set pieces are a pretext for this dull, pedantic action-adventure; it seems they filmed everything they had then wrote the "script", which makes no sense at all. A waste of time-consuming drills for "bungee ballet" off of Croft's balcony! Based on a video game. Followed by a sequel. Running Time: 96 minutes and rated PG-13 for action violence and some sensuality.
Rating:
Summary: Globetrotting Action
Review: Tomb Raider, starring Angelina Jolie, brings the popular video game to the big screen to fine results. THE STORY: Lara Croft, the Tomb Raider, must search the world for a mysterious relic that holds to key to controlling time and prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. THE COOL THINGS: For fans of the video games, Jolie's depiction of Lara Croft is just amazing. It really does feel like the game come to life with the mysterious locales, mysterious artifacts, treacherous monsters and rival tomb raiders. Easily the main driver of this movie is it's myriad of action sequences and the awesome special FX. The cool background story of "a Father and Daughter's Love that Defies Time" is another cool aspect to the film. BEST SCENES: 1. The Mansion Battle 2. The Battle in the Cambodia Temple 3. The Last Fight Scene THE CRITICAL ANALYSIS All cool things aside, the storyline takes a major backseat to the action here however. The rough gist of the story was Lara's need to prevent the time control device from falling into the wrong hands but to be honest, the actual storytelling gets quite confusing and if you blink for a minute you'll probably miss a lot of the story development. The movie itself moves at a frantic pace and if not paying attention carefully you'll definitely miss out on some key plot developments (such as why are we suddenly in this particular locale). Don't feel too bad though, it's the poor storytelling and not your lack of attentiveness. That being said though, you're more than likely watching this movie for the eye candy (action, FX and Lara Croft) and not the brilliant storytelling. THE DVD EXTRAS: Like most action film DVDs of late, what the movie lacks is MORE than made up for in the awesome extras package of the DVD. Among the cornucopia of awesome goodies in this batch are: 1. "Crafting Lara Croft" - 7 minute featurette about Angelina Jolie's extensive martial arts and weapons training to prepare for her role as Lara Croft. Cool stuff. Remind me not to mess with her... 2. Director's Audio Commentary Track - Always insightful 3. 4 Deleted Scenes - Some good, some alright 4. "Stunts" - 8 minute featurette about how some of the action stunts (particularly the
Mansion battle scene) were filmed. 5. "Digging Into Tomb Raider" - 25 minute feature that talks about the entire movie including it's video game origins, the stunts, Jolie's training as well as shooting on location in Cambodia and Greenland. 6. Music Video - "Elevation" by U2 7. "Are You Game?" - 8 minute featurette that talked about the Tomb Raider games and how they translated the game to the big screen. 8. Alternate Main Title Sequence 9. Visual FX - Several mini featurettes on how they filmed all the big Special FX scenes in the movie. Cool stuff!!! THE VERDICT: While the story and storytelling may be pretty lacking, this film DOES deliver the goods in spades in terms of action and FX so viewers will be pleased in the action category and the story is easy enough to follow along and get the "basic gist" of if nothing else. For fans of the Tomb Raider games you'll be pleased with the rendering of everyone's favorite action heroine and the DVD extras provide some awesome insight into the world of Lara Croft. Overall, action fanatics should be pleased with this film which is great for a rental or a purchase. The awesome DVD extras make it a solid addition to your collection if you're so inclined. GRADES: The Movie: 3 ½ stars
The DVD Extras: 5 stars
Overall: 4 ¼ stars Recommended
Rating:
Summary: If you play the video games, you'll like this
Review: I know the professional reviewers thought this movie was awful, but since I have played several of the Tomb Raider video games, I enjoyed it for what it was, a video game come to life. Angelina Jolie really captured Croft. The sets were very similar to video game levels. Jolie pretty much had to perform the same kind of stunts to get out of the scene as you do to get off the level. It was exciting to see the character I have manipulated so many hours on my computer come to life. And seeing a big-breasted woman firing big guns, swinging on ropes or leaping over cars on a motorcycle....well, that's just hot. What more can you want? Plot? Don't be silly. It had a plot. Find this shiny thing. Same plot as the video games. That's plenty plot.
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