Directed by Simon West (The Mechanic, The Expendables 2), Tomb Raider stars Noah Taylor, Iain Glen, Daniel Craig and Jon Voight. Based on the hugely popular video game series of the same name, the movie follows the feisty archaeologist Lara Croft as she searches for a, what else, a hidden artifact. Computer game adaptations, by and large, completely suck, primarily because they have nothing to do with the game. But this film, while silly and over the top, does maintain many elements from the Tomb Raider series. But is it a good movie? Well let's see what we're dealing with.
The movie opens with Lara Croft (Jolie) in an Egyptian Tomb, fighting off a killer robot while trying to find a hidden treasure. After a pretty cool action scene, we find that the battle, in fact, took place in her home, where her assistant Bryce (Taylor) had programmed the robot to face her.
The movie is set during an apparent solar alignment, where a secret society called the Illuminati, let by a man called Powell (Glen) are looking for the pieces of a 'Triangle Of Light', which must be joined before the alignment ceases.
While mourning the death of her father (Voight), Lara discovers a clock in her house that has only just begun to tick. Receiving a letter from her father, which was meant to arrive at the beginning of the alignment, she discovers that the clock she possess is critical to locating the 2 halves of the Triangle. Unfortunately armed commandos storm Lara's house and steal the clock.
Her fathers letter reveals that the Triangle is an ancient device that grants the user power over time and space. As such, he urges her to find and destroy the 2 halves before the Illuminati find it, because anyone who has seen Angels & Demons knows that the Illuminati are not to be trusted. But then again, when did you last see a movie that featured a shady society that COULD be trusted?
From there, Lara does pretty much what she does in the games. Goes to tombs and ancient ruins where she shoots and steals things. In a sense, this is one of the best video game adaptations I've ever seen. It has so many aspects from the game that it manages to stay true to the source material. She battles a power crazy megalomaniac, visits Venice, goes to a Buddhist Monastery, fights supernatural creatures, steals enigmatic antiquities, performs death-defying stunts, and shes does all this while sporting short shorts, a tank top and a pair of pistols. How much more perfect an adaptation can you get? Granted none of the game involved looking for a 'Triangle Of Light', but that's not such a big deal, considering how diverse her range of pilfered treasures was.
The main problems this movie has is a pretty nonsensical story, an abundance of unnecessary side characters, a hammy, cliched villain, and some pretty goofy moments. But on the plus side, a lot of the action scenes are a great deal of fun. There's a real spirit of adventure & discovery, and it has Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft. That is, undoubtedly, one of the best casting choices in movie history. When Tomb Raider was first released, Croft became probably the computer world's most sought-after sex symbol, and she's portrayed in the movie by Angelina Jolie, one of the real world's most sought-after sex symbols. How can you argue with that? The film may be pretty absurd at times, but what do you expect from the guy whose directorial debut was Con Air? It's fast, fun, mysterious, and for those who love the game (myself included), it will give you just what you are looking for.
So that's it for Jolie Month; hope you enjoyed it. As before, normal service is resumed next week.
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