Different things like books or comics have been turned into movies for years. After video games became more popular, some of them were turned into movies with mixed results. Most of the ones I've seen haven't been that good, but there have been some that I have enjoyed. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is one of the ones I enjoyed even though it had some problems.

Wealthy Lara Croft traveled the world going on various dangerous adventures to discover artifacts. Her butler Hillary and Bryce, a guy that was good with computers and other technical things, helped her. Lara started a new adventure when she discovered a unique clock connected to the upcoming alignment of all the planets that her father had hidden before he disappeared. Richard had also been involved in adventures, and he vanished during one of them. Lara set out to find an artifact called the triangle of light that had the power to change time. The Illuminati, a secret group, was also after the triangle. Manfred Powell seemed to be in charge of the effort to find the triangle for the Illuminati. They wanted to use it to take over the world. Lara had to travel the world to try to find the triangle while also dealing with Manfred and Alex West, another tomb raider who was working for Manfred.

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider was based on the highly popular video game series. I don’t have much experience with the game, but I do know that they all involve Lara traveling around the world on various adventures to look for certain artifacts. She had a huge house complete with training areas and her butler was always around to help. Those things were carried into the movie. I did try a few of the games because I liked the idea of the different adventures, but I never got anywhere. I kept running into walls or getting stuck in corners. Lara also been featured in a series of comic books published by Top Cow Comics that ran from 1995 to 2005.

Even though I was never able to get anywhere in the game, I still know that they involved Lara going on adventures and having to fight many enemies. That was done for Lara Croft: Tomb Raider as well, which added a lot of action to the movie. That started within the first few minutes of the movie when Lara was fighting a robot. There were many more action scenes throughout the movie that included Lara fighting different enemies. She was very good with her guns and various weapons. The action scenes did keep things interesting even though they weren’t really believable. Lara did have to fight statues that came to life at one point. The action scenes did add a bit of violence as well since she had to fight actual people at times too. The violence wasn’t that graphic, but it probably is too graphic for younger children. There was some swearing as well, though nothing extreme. There were some words that I think are swears in England, though I don’t know how strong or graphic they are. The action and violence did get the movie rated PG-13.

In addition to the action and violence, there was humor added throughout Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Much of it was provided by Bryce and Hillary and their reactions to the different things that were happening. Hillary tended to be very calm and controlled most of the time, even when some extreme things were going on. Lara also said and did a few things that I found funny. The movie wasn’t hilarious, but it didn’t take itself too seriously either. I don’t think a more serious approach would have worked as well. I also enjoyed Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life overall, but I thought it took itself too serious.

I have always thought that Lara was like Indiana Jones with all the adventures she went on. She had a lot more money which helped her pull of the adventures and allowed her to have all sorts of helpful gadgets. Lara also had some issues connected to losing her father at a young age. She spent a lot of time training, lived in a huge mansion, and was helped by a faithful butler. I realized when watching the movie again this time that she shares those things in common with Bruce Wayne. She wasn’t fighting crime like he was, but she did deal with bad guys to protect the world. I didn’t know enough about Bruce/Batman when I first saw this movie to pick up on those little things.

Lara was designed to look like a walking sexual fantasy for the video games. That look was carried into Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. She dressed in tight shirts that showed off her assets and even wore the short shorts that Lara tended to wear in the video games. She showed off a lot of skin in one pointless shower scene. He bare breast was almost completely shown after she left the shower. That sequence, as well as some slow motion shots of her running, were clearly aimed at men. Women got some eye candy as well later in the movie when Alex had his turn in a shower. He left the shower in a hurry and was walking around his hotel room naked. He looked really good and did show off his bare backside. That was it for nudity in the movie and there were no sex scenes or any hints at romance. Lara and Alex did know each other before the movie started, but I wasn’t sure if it was just from work related things or if there had been a romance.

Lara was developed more than any of the other characters, mostly because of things shown connected to her father. There were one or two flashbacks that showed a young Lara with Richard. That did add a bit to her character, though there wasn’t any kind of explanation for why she started going on adventures. It would have been nice if that had been covered, but then there wouldn’t have been time for as much action. I did think that Angelina Jolie did well with the part. She looked like Lara, though evidently she wore a padded bra to get closer to video game Lara’s measurements. Richard was only shown in a few flashbacks, so there wasn’t much for Jon Voight to do.

Bryce was some kind of electronic genius who kept Lara’s gadgets working. He lived in a trailer on the grounds of Lara’s home. It seemed like they had known each other for a while and they worked well together. There wasn’t a lot for Noah Taylor to do though. Hillary was Lara’s butler. He remained calm while all sorts of things were going on. It seemed like he had been with Lara for a long time, and he did seem to be more than just a butler. He understood her issues connected to her father. Christopher Barrie handled the part well.

Manfred was a member of the Illuminati. He was the one in charge of finding the triangle which meant he had to face Lara more than once. He was very determined to reach his goal and he didn’t care who he hurt in the process. Mr. Pimms was Manfred’s assistant who was always around, but never doing much. Alex West was another tomb raider that Lara had dealt with in the past. She didn’t like the way he did his job. Alex was good at what he did, but he didn’t seem to be as good as Lara. Daniel Craig was really good in the part. This was the first movie I saw him in. He has since go on to become the new James Bond.

Main Cast

Rachel Appleton - Young Lara
Christopher Barrie - Hillary
Daniel Craig - Alex West
Iain Glen - Manfred Powell
Angelina Jolie - Lara Croft
Julian Rhind-Tutt - Mr. Pimms
Noah Taylor - Bryce
Jon Voight - Lord Richard Croft

Simon West - Director

DVD Information

I first saw Lara Croft: Tomb Raider in the theater when it first came out. I eventually picked up the DVD when I found it cheap since I had enjoyed the movie. I have the widescreen version and I think there is also a full screen version. The DVD has several extras that I have watched, but I didn’t watch them again this time. I remember thinking they were interesting. The different featurettes showed things connected to how the movie was made, including covering the training that Jolie went through to take the part. There were also four deleted scenes.

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider was an entertaining action movie that I enjoyed even though it had some problems. The characters and plot could have been more developed and certain things were unbelievable, but I still thought the movie was entertaining. I know that many people didn’t care for the movie. Fans of the Tomb Raider video games or Angelina Jolie may enjoy the movie.

Since there have been comic books featuring Lara, this review is part of elvisdo’s 2008 Funny Pages Write-Off. It is also part of his 2008 Canadiania Write-off. Rachel Appleton, the girl who played the young Lara, is from Ontario.

Angelina Jolie Movie Reviews
Kung Fu Panda ~ Mr. and Mrs. Smith ~ Shark Tale ~ Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow ~ Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life ~ Wanted ~


Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD