Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)

Director: Simon West

Writer: Patrick Massell, John Zinman (Screenplay) Sara B. Cooper, Mike Werb, Michael Colleary (Story)

Starring: Angelina Jolie, Jon Voight, Iain Glen, Noah Taylor, Daniel Craig, Chris Barrie

Story: Video Game adventurer Lara Croft comes to life in a movie where she races against time and villains to recover powerful ancient artefacts.

Story: All treasure hunter type action films have a lot to live up to after the first three Indiana Jones films, but having a fan boy base from the video games it had a lot to live up too. Compared to what the fans would want from the game it doesn’t really excel but as an individual film about a tomb raider it turns out very watchable. The story follows Lara all over the world in search to artefacts with friendships being started, finished, betrayed as well as rescued. (8/10)

Cast: Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft – The rich adventurer who is in search for what happened to her father. If any action role was cast perfectly this has to be one with Jolie being a perfect match for video game heroine Lara Croft. Star Performance (9/10)

Iain Glen as Manfred Powell – Working for the illuminarte to find the alignment position on Earth to be able to control time. Has a history with Lara’s father, good cold-hearted villain. (8/10)

Daniel Craig as Alex West – A rival tomb raider with a history with Lara, now works for Manfred against Lara but their mutual respect stays through out. Typical Craig performance where he stumbles through with out doing anything eye catching. Poor Performance (5/10)

Jon Voight as Lord Richard Croft – The adventurer father who was lost on one of his quest and appears to help guide Lara in her dreams. With limited screen time it’s hard to really judge the performance. (7/10)

Noah Taylor as Bryce and Chris Barrie as Hillary -  The tech guy and the butler for Lara usually have a few good one liners in them which gives them both good time on screen and well worth waiting for there next line. Favourite Character Award (8/10)

Director: Simon West creates some good action sequences to make the story flow from start to finish and a good pace. (8/10)

Action: With some original action including a rather interesting rope trick in a mansion, chases through the jungle, temples and ice caves all will keep you on the edge of the seat. (9/10)

Settings: Lots of different setting all offering something new to the story. (8/10)

Suggestion: For a good relax action film this is one good one well worth watching so I would be suggesting this to any action fan. (8/10)

Best Part: The rope mansion scene with snippets from the Butler and tech guy.

Worst Part: The comparisons to the video game as a stand alone film it is just as good if not better than all new generation action adventure films.

Favourite Quote: After Lara asks Bryce about a clock ticking Bryce goes ‘Oh, It’s one of those ticking clocks’.

Overall: It’s no Indiana Jones but it is a lot better than the National Treasure films. Angelina as Lara is a huge boost for its appeal and will definitely get the boys interested. If you want an extremely watchable action adventure film this is a good one to go with.

Rating 78%

Trailer