Review: Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (* 1/2)

LARA CROFT TOMB RAIDER: THE CRADLE OF LIFE
A film review by Steve Rhodes

Copyright 2003 Steve Rhodes

RATING (0 TO ****): * 1/2


Welcome to LARA CROFT TOMB RAIDER: THE CRADLE OF LIFE, the latest Lara Croft
video game, oops I mean film. This much you'll have to give it -- if you
have to watch a movie this miserable, it helps enormously to have Angelina
Jolie as its eponymous lead. With her butter-smooth, well-tanned skin, her
bee-sting lips and her curvaceous body, Jolie has the perfect looks of a
fashion model designed by a computer. She is always stunning, which is
something her latest movie never is.



The plot concerns a hunt for the infamous Pandora's Box. Along the way,
Croft gets to blast away on her big, silver guns and gets to slug a menacing
shark right in his snout. THE SUM OF ALL FEARS's Ciarán Hinds plays the
story's villain, Dr. Jonathan Reece. Dr. Reece is a Nobel Prize winner who
has turned into a bio bad boy. He has designs on the box so that he can
unleash a biological catastrophe on the world and turn a tidy profit in the
bargain.



Is this Lara Croft movie better than the first one? I guess, but that's not
exactly a ringing endorsement. Other than ogling Jolie, there's simply no
reason whatsoever to see it.



LARA CROFT TOMB RAIDER: THE CRADLE OF LIFE runs 1:58. It is rated PG-13 for
"action violence and some sensuality" and would be acceptable for kids
around 10 and up.



My son Jeffrey, age 14, who never seemed particularly engaged by the
picture, nevertheless gave it ***. He said that it was a little better than
the first one. He especially liked Jolie's stunt work.



The film is playing in nationwide release now in the United States. In the
Silicon Valley, it is showing at the AMC and the Century theaters.



Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com

Email:



************************************************** *********************



Want free reviews and weekly movie and video recommendations via Email?

Just send me a letter with the word "subscribe" in the subject line.