Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life film review

certificate_12A

LARA CROFT TOMB RAIDER: THE CRADLE OF LIFE

In this second Lara Croft adventure, the pneumatic heroine is in search of Pandora's box, the mythical casket containing unspeakable evil. She hopes to reach it before it falls into the wrong hands and wreaks global havoc. Evidenced by the fact that The Cradle Of Life is presently being unveiled in cinemas worldwide, she clearly failed. Maybe evil is too harsh a word to describe this nonsensical drivel. It's hard to believe any malice was intended. The real intention was simply to cash in on the success of the original.

Watching a humourless, pouting, rich bitch isn't necessarily as fun as it sounds. Even in the alluring form of Angelina Jolie. Any character conceived by a video game geek is liable to have the odd character flaw. As a two-dimensional figure defined by looks and agility, she was obviously perfect, but all efforts to make her come alive by instilling her with any personality have been less successful. Of all her attributes, being boring is the one that stands out the most.

For a tomb raider, Croft doesn't raid many tombs. Here she is pitted against the wicked scientist Jonathan Reiss (Ciarán Hinds), described as a "modern day Dr Mengele". Both juggle possession of a mysterious ancient orb as they try to unlock its secret that will lead them to Pandora's Box. For the task Croft insists on being accompanied by ex-beau Terry Sheridan (Gerard Butler), whose purpose seems unclear. The two seem suspicious of each other's motives and their aborted attempts at rekindling their romance are unconvincing.

The first film provided more humour courtesy of Croft's two technical wizards Bryce (Noah Taylor) and Hilary (Chris Barrie), neither of whom have much involvement second time round. Considering director Jan de Bont made his name with Speed, The Cradle Of Life is rather slow. Even the action sequences are laboured. The most arresting element of the film is the scenery. Croft's exploits take her to Greece, Hong Kong and Kenya, and so by the end there is at least a sense of having been somewhere, even if the trip is a dull one.