Lara Croft: Tomb Raider-
The Cradle of Life
(Paramount Region 1 DVD)
(2003)
review by Head Cheeze

Angelina Jolie is Lara Croft. While she may not have the natural...err...assets required to fully embody the video game vixen, she's got pretty much everything else covered nicely. I also think that the reportedly crazed Jolie feels a sort of empathy toward the titular Tomb Raider, as she literally throws herself into the role with more than just the usual dose of method acting; Jolie seems quite possessed. And who can blame her? The world of Lara Croft, a buxom British treasure hunter/soldier of fortune/wealthy heiress seems like one any warm blooded female would love to inhabit, let alone the countless pre-pubescent males who guided her lithe body through countless video game adventures, alternating between puzzle solving, jumping lava pits, and positioning the onscreen figure in such a way as to peer down her tight tank top or gaze longingly up between her legs. Don't laugh. You know you did it.

The first Tomb Raider film recieved much critical lashing upon it's release, and it didn't exactly set the box office ablaze, prompting many to raise an eyebrow when it was announced that a sequel would follow (myself included). While I don't think the first film deserved the beatings it took, I do agree that it was something of a mess. Still, it was a very attractive mess, as I can certainly think of worse things to do than stare at Angelina Jolie for two hours. I also think many critics missed the point of the film, simply because they'd probably never played the source videogame (something that shouldn't play a factor when said source becomes a film, but I'll play Devil's advocate, here). The Tomb Raider game was about sex, cheeky humour, sex, adventure, sex, suspension of disbelief, and, oh, sex. The film realised that wonderfully, however, it seemed as though the core audience who played the game had gone on in life, discovered the pleasures of an actual woman, and avoided the film altogether. Had Tomb Raider the film come out at the height of the game's success, something tells me that things would have been remarkably different.

So, how did the brain trust behind Tomb Raider- The Cradle of Life react to the news that the very audience they made the film for was no longer there? They didn't. They simply made a bigger, louder, and sexier film than the first. They also ratcheted up the action quotient by bringing Speed director, Jean de Bont aboard, and the results are...well...pretty much the same.

An Earthquake off the coast of Greece reveals an underground labyrinth that houses an artifact that is said to lead to Pandora's Box. Of course Lara Croft is brought in to stop an evil arms dealer (Hinds) from attaining the legendary box and selling it to the highest bidder. Lara seeks assistance from a recently jailed former associate/lover/merc-for-hire, Terry Sheridan (Butler), who serves as something of a red herring for much of the film, as we wonder whether or not Terry is really helping save the world, or using Lara to get closer to Pandora's Box so he can sell it himself. Their adventures take us from Greece to Hong Kong, jungles to snow capped peaks, as de Bont makes sure to blow up as much of the lovely scenery as possible.

The Cradle of Life is something of a breezy flick. You don't need to invest much beyond consciousness to get the gyst of what's going on, and Jolie, as always, is a feast for the eyes. There's a tremendous amount of action, great sets, solid special effects, and just a general crowd pleasing vibe, but it's offset by the predictable and oftentimes dull relationship between Croft and Sheridan. Too much time is wasted on something we all know the outcome of the minute Butler steps on the screen, and it's a hinderence to all of de Bont's efforts to juice up the franchise. Lara never had more than a few seconds worth of relationships in the videogames, so why throw them in here?

Still, the film is actually quite entertaining at times, and is easily as fun as this year's other gals, guns, and gizmos spectacle, Charlies Angels: Full Throttle.

The DVD from Paramount offers up a whole continent's worth of extras, including deleted and alternate scenes, a de Bont commentary (which is quite funny), five featurettes, music videos by band's I hate, and more. It's not quite as expansive as the first film's "gold" edition, but you get pretty much everything you could possibly need to know about the film in this set.

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider-The Cradle of Life is as goofy and fun as the videogame was when it's focused on the action, but loses steam when it tries to pretend it's anything more than the gun-toting jiggle fest that inspired it. However, that's what fast forward's for.