Tomb Raider (2001)

1.5 out of 4

Starring: Angelina Jolie, Iain Glen, Daniel Craig, Chris Barrie, Noah Taylor, Jon Voigt

Director: Simon West

Time: 98 mins

One probably shouldn't expect much of a movie inspired by a popular computer game (anyone remember 1999's Wing Commander?), but Tomb Raider did look promising, with an Oscar winner in the lead role, a proven action director behind the camera, and trailers and ads displaying polished production values and an intriguing Indiana Jones-type plot. What we get is a film that tries too hard to remain faithful to its video game origins, with all kinds of flashy moves and camera angles, and in turn loses cohesion and the feeling that one is watching a serious movie rather than a, well, video game on film. If Paramount Studios are trying to ignite a franchise in the Indiana Jones mould, then they should have ditched the video game constraints and created something more from scratch. Sure, that might have antagonised fans of the game, but it's the wider, non-fan audience the studio and filmmakers should be trying to attract.

Based on the Eidos computer game, Tomb Raider, featuring a particularly busty adventuress (and fantasy figure for thousands of teenaged boys) named Lara Croft, the film stars Angelina Jolie as Lara, a rich noblewoman who likes to explore lost temples and dungeons in search of strange but desirable artifacts. The script actually creates a story for her, about her late father's (Jon Voigt, Angelina's real-life dad) quest for two halves of an ancient time-controlling device. The quest also involves greedy lawyer Manfred Powell (Iain Glen), fellow tomb raider Alex West (Daniel Craig), and a secret society known as the Illuminati. On Lara's side are her trusted sidekicks Bryce (Noah Taylor), a high-tech gadget expert, and Henry (Chris Barrie), her butler.

There are three major action sequences in Tomb Raider. The first is an assault by military forces on Lara's stately home to steal a clock piece left behind by Lara's father. The fast editing that is used throughout the whole movie (and in a lot of other movies these days) is effective here, as Lara bounces and leaps and swirls through the air on a pair of giant elastic bands while dodging bullets and punching and kicking the invaders. The second action setpiece is set in a Cambodian temple, which held potential but lost me when all sorts of statues come to life for no particular reason. By the time we reach the third sequence, in a cavern in the frozen north, I was past caring. The story jumps around like a frog on a hot stove - as an example, in one scene we see Lara discover the clock piece left by her dad, and in the next she's speeding through busy London streets on her motorcycle. Huh? What's the point of that? To show Lara has fast modes of transport? Or that the English are lenient on speeding? Also, the film's main villain, Manfred Powell, wants to kill her one moment, and then the two of them join forces? Would Indiana Jones and the Nazis have done that? Even worse is the incessant rock beat that accompanies the action. Yes, it's meant to appeal to young moviegoers, but are we watching an adventure film, or a heavy metal music video? Again, the filmmakers don't really seem to know.

The defining characteristics of Lara Croft are her acrobatic manoeuvres and her chest measurements. Both attributes are on frequent display in the movie. Indeed, I have seldom seen so many side-on, profile shots of a clothed character just to emphasise one particular part of her body. Jolie is physically fine for the role, and plays her as a slightly cool and mysterious heroine who only shows signs of human emotions when she reminisces about her dad. She is clothed in a myriad of different costumes throughout the movie, but is probably most comfortable in a T-shirt and shorts with a gun holster on each thigh. She exudes glamour and radiance, but one wonders whether she is meant to be a poster-girl for women or a key advertising point for attracting males. Iain Glen, as the villain, is not very memorable at all, while Australian actor Noah Taylor (Shine, Almost Famous) is hardly used as her sidekick. Jon Voigt adds a tone of gravity to his few brief scenes, though one may question why he waited till a critical moment in history to tell his daughter of a task she must complete in a few days. Does he like giving her tough deadlines?

In the hands of director Simon West (Con Air, The General's Daughter, both $100m hits) and Paramount Studios, one could have hoped, however minute that hope may be, that Hollywood had finally created a reasonable movie version of a computer game, but Tomb Raider is not it. Angelina Jolie is easy on the eye, but the movie itself is hard to take, and by halfway even boring to sit through. Play the game instead.

(c) Joe Wong (16 June 2001)