Tomb
Raider Movie Review:
Straight
from video game fame, Lara Croft is brought to life on the
big screen to put more fire in this summer's box-office
flame. Rife with
special effects and little humanity, "Tomb Raider"
would seem like an easy target for nasty criticism, as was
justifiably done to the horrific "The
Mummy Returns". However, "Tomb Raider" rises
above the challenge and becomes a rather surprisingly delightful
and silly adventure.
If
Indiana Jones were ever to be a woman, he would be nobody
else but Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie). She's a well to do
adventurer who exudes physical
and mental dexterity, while being sexy at the same time.
Like her father (Jon Voight), she searches for archaeological
treasures all over the globe
to benefit humanity and for personal satisfaction.
Realizing
that the world is going through an important astrological
event that only occurs once every five thousand years (all
the planets in our
solar system aligning with the sun), Lara needs to locate
the two halves of an ancient artifact, the "Triangle
of Light". Whoever puts these pieces
together at the exact moment of the planetary eclipse would
have godlike powers to control space and time. In a race
to prevent a secret society
from getting hold of the artifact, Lara must now beat them
to it and save the world from the evil that they can unleash.
First
and foremost, "Tomb Raider" is a popcorn flick.
It is not meant to be a philosophical treatise, but just
a movie to entertain and dazzle us with
special effects and breathtaking fight scenes. "Tomb
Raider" delivers, although not always successfully,
but enough to be enjoyed and recommended. Choreographed
fights are abundant, and some are actually well done, as
the
scene where Lara is tethered to the ceiling while acrobatically
fending off intruders. Traces of a video game are also amusingly
evident, like when the
big bad guy comes out and you have to shoot it a million
times to get to the next level.
Indeed,
it is very difficult not to compare "Tomb Raider"
to "The Mummy Returns". The former is an example
of a good popcorn movie, while the
latter is a poor excuse for one. These two boast action,
adventure and fanciful tales, but what differentiates them
is the level of annoying
stupidity; the rolling eyes factor. "The Mummy Returns"
is peppered with lame dialogue and populated with imbeciles,
but "Tomb Raider" is smarter than that. It keeps
dialogues to a minimum, and just says what needs to be said,
focusing more on what it does best, the adventure. In addition,
all
the characters are likable, and this really helps.
Angelina
Jolie is perfect for the role of Lara Croft. I don't think
there is any other young actress out there that exhibits
such confidence and agility. She has good screen presence
and it shows.
"Tomb
Raider" entertains for the most part and will probably
be one of the not-so-bad summer blockbusters. It is a fun
and enjoyable game.oops movie, that won't leave you feeling
cheated.
Mazzyboi
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