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Lara Croft: Tomb Raider Film Review
LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER
Running time: 101 mins
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Daniel Craig, Iain Glen, Noah Taylor, Chris Barrie, Leslie Phillips, Mark Collie
Being one of the few people to have never played the computer game from which Tomb Raider was derived, I was curious to know what was so captivating, other than the obvious charms of the game's heroine, Lara Croft. On the evidence of this film however it was difficult to tell, although the initial theory regarding Croft's anatomy seems to have been substantiated.
For all its lavish effects and computer graphics Tomb Raider fails to create an engaging world or people to inhabit it, with the result that you cared little for anything or anyone at anytime. Presumably much of the game's appeal lies in the fact that you can take an active part in what's happening. Unfortunately this opportunity is denied the moviegoer, the majority of whom I imagine would have killed for a hand held control with which to liven up the plodding and predictable action.
The arrival of a new female action hero in the movies is way overdue and although the dynamic Croft has a brain to match her beauty, it's just a shame they didn't bother to include a personality. Croft, played with a permanent sneer and a breathless English accent by the lithe and voluptuous Angelina Jolie, is the female blend of Indiana Jones and James Bond, but without the charm or wit.
A woman of formidable breeding, Lady Lara Croft resides in a vast stately home alongside her droll manservant Hillary (Christopher Barrie) and the eccentric techno boffin Bryce (Noah Taylor). Her time appears to be taken up fighting her in-house mechanical monster, taking showers and uttering that trusty upper class blaspheme "bugger". When she discovers a note left by her late father, Lord Croft (Jon Voight), she is launched on a mission to recover the two halves of the Triangle Of Light, a sacred object that once whole imbues its owner with godlike powers to manipulate the past as well as the future. This task is given some urgency by the fact that it can only be completed during the period of interplanetary alignment, a rare astrological phenomenon that takes place only once every 5,000 years.
Inevitably there is some competition for this prized item and it comes in the swarthily attired form of Manfred Powell (Iain Glen) who wants the triangle for more sinister reasons than Croft. Their quest takes them to various locations across the world, from the Cambodian ruins of Angkor Wat to the bleak tundra of Iceland. Despite such exotic settings, Peter Menzies Jr's cinematography never fully captures their full impact.
The success of such of action thrillers often now finds itself at the mercy of the special effects departments, which is where much of Tomb Raider's failings lie. The computer generated sets and monsters are unconvincing at best and plain bad at worst, a fact that only undermines the elaborate fight sequences and something the rapid editing and claustrophobic filming fail to mask.
English director Simon West (The General's Daughter, Air Force One) became embroiled in a squabble over a writing credit: surprisingly to have his name included as it turns out. The fact that the screenplay was based on an adaptation, that itself was taken from a story, that in turn was inspired by an interactive game might go some way to explaining why the finished script lost what spontaneity and freshness it may have started with. It's not clear from which source Powell's incisive words originated, but wherever they came from, they could easily have been describing Tomb Raider when at one point he yells "Enough of this twaddle".
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