Laura Croft: Tomb Raider isn't a bust, but it comes closer to being one then it should have. Based on the video game, Laura Croft: Tomb Raider finds adventurer/thrill seeker/tomb raider Lady Laura Croft trying to retrieve an ancient, magical talisman that, in the wrong hands, will destroy the world. So of course the wrong hands, in the form of a centuries old cult, is trying to get hold of it just as hard as they can. Will Laura retrieve the device first? Will she survive the attack of both the human and magical bad guys? And, when she discovers what happened to her father, will she give tit for tat?

Laura Croft: Tomb Raider is fun, but nowhere near as much fun as it could have been had it just not taken itself quite so seriously. In trying desperately to make it clear that Croft *is* a major adventurer and that this *is* an exciting film Laura Croft: Tomb Raider simply goes over the top. Both Indiana Jones and Rick O'Connell, of whom Laura is intended to be a peer, are much more realistic and neither would be dumb or thrill seeking enough to battle a robot, programmed to literally kill them, just as a form of exercise. These two heroes only fight when they have to and run when they can and probably regard anyone who does differently as a boob. Certainly Croft's motivations for what she does are different then O'Connell or Jones', but compared to these two heroes she comes across as more of a badly written comic book (or video game) character then a realistic adventurer.

This to a side, Angelina Jolie is perfect as Laura Croft, at least, once she receives a little Barbie Doll type enhancement. Even when pulling the craziest of stunts Jolie manages to convey, mostly through facial expressions, that Croft is having the time of her life, so much so that she may even be mildly unhinged in her pursuit of excitement. Sad to say that none of the other actors really seemed to fit their parts as well though I suspect this was due more to a real lack of direction in the script then any failure of the actors themselves. The actors playing Laura's butler and science geek barely qualify as much more then comic book characters themselves and the rest of the cast, especially both the villain and Laura's love interest aren't even that significant. In an interesting bit of casting Jon Voight, Angelina Jolie's father, appears as Laura Croft's father Lord Croft. Unfortunately, while Voight has given moviegoers some of the best performances in film history, this wasn't one of them. His performance was so low keyed I found myself wondering if this respected actor had been ill during the filming of Laura Croft: Tomb Raider. I would have expected the father of a wildcat such as Laura Croft to be much more animated then the somnolent persona Voight presented.

Besides Jolie's wonderful performance the film has some terrific special effects and exotic settings going for it that helped keep things interesting. As for the story itself, its pace is so quick that it's often hard to keep a breast of everything going on, but at the same time the rapid movement assists in suspending the audiences sense of disbelief. Something often needed in this type of movie, but that is especially important in a film as poorly thought out as this one seems to have been.

If you liked The Mummy or Raiders of the Lost Ark you'll probably enjoy Laura Croft: Tomb Raider as well, but though Laura Croft: Tomb Raider's good it's certainly not a match for that pair.

Grade: B+

Home	Books	Movies	Jokes	Email me!