Review of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) by Stevenf — 02 May 2013

I don't know if it was the silly young kid inside me, or my love for the particular video game franchise, but after watching this again almost 12 years after its release...I still love this film, but mainly only for Lara Croft herself, played by Angelina Jolie.

Let's be honest, this was a bad film, the characters were far too fictitious and unbelievable, the special effects were unnecessarily muddled and at times senseless, and there were enough continuity errors to put the Carry On films to shame, but I still find the ridiculousness of it all quite intriguing and enjoyable.

So because back at the start of the millennium origin stories weren't in fashion, we kick off with Lara training in her massive mansion, she then begins to remember her father as it is coming up to the anniversary of his death, but there is also the matter of the planetary alignment which as it so happens is coming up a time when a clock Lara finds can be fitted into a certain lock that will reveal pieces of the Triangle of Light, an artefact with powers to control time, oh yeah and this only happens every 5000 years, so its quite a big deal.

Lara suits up in her tightly clad outfits and unexplained-as-to-where-her-gadgets-and-stuff-came-from accessories to challenge a man, Manfred Powell (yeah, really) who is a member of the Illuminati, a secret organisation intent on using the triangle of course to control time, but why they are doing this is anyones guess, but I could care less, its still a good movie to watch.

The plot is of course riddled with ridiculousness to the point that you need to realise that this is a video game adaption, and while that doesn't do the games any justice, it certainly covers the extensive action sequences, while impressive, used a slow motion technique which was just downright annoying.

Angelina Jolie is on fine form as Lady Croft, she plays the part expertly with her toned physique and her little sexual grunts that make Lara famous. Iain Glen puts an erratic yet enjoyable performance as Powell, while Daniel Craig plays another Tomb Raider.

If you can put aside the baffling plot and flamboyant characters, and sit down to enjoy the movie for its worth, its a winner, it won't leave you gobsmacked or emotionally unstable, but it should certainly give you a few laughs for its light humour and decent lead performance.