Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle Of Life

UK Release Date. 22 August 2003
Certification. 12A
Running Time. 1 hour 57 mins
Director. Jan de Bont
Cast. Gerard Butler, Ciarán Hinds, Djimon Hounsou, Angelina Jolie.
Rating. 11%

Review.

Two years after the 'unwatchable' Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Paramount Pictures released a sequel entitled Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle Of Life. The studio even brought in the director of Speed and Twister, Jan de Bont to helm the project. And guess what, the film was every bit as underwhelming as Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.

Sharp editing, not to mention how better the sequel looks, the film is nonetheless a procession of inane set pieces, including one sequence where our heroine punches a shark as a means of escape. This example aside, there is no discernible reason for the action scenes not to be engaging, but they often feel empty and distanced.

Both Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle Of Life are dreadful. The only positive remains the initial decision to cast Angelina Jolie as the bad-ass billionaire archaeologist. Jolie is the perfect embodiment of Lara Croft, she has the look down to a tee, if only she had some material to work with.