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Angelina Jolie really is Lara Croft. One couldn't imagine anyone else in the role now. Jolie takes to action scenes like a duck to water, and that's what Lara Croft films are about--action sequences. From the beginning earthquake, to swimming with a shark, to an underwater collapsing temple, to sky diving from the world's tallest building, The Cradle of Life has action. Believable action? This is based on a video game, remember.

The story has Lara trying to find the Luna Temple, built by Alexander. An earthquake moves the temple to a position where it is accessible and there Lara and her crew find Alexander's treasures. It is an unusual altarpiece and golden globe that hold her interest, though. And while the temple is shifting underfoot, someone else glides in for the kill. It is one escape after another for our dauntless heroine, and she soon meets this film's master villain, Jonathan Reiss (Ciaran Hinds), who wants to unleash a horrible plague on the planet. Reiss has an equally evil henchmen, Sean (Til Schweiger) to assist him, but Lara has Bryce (Noah Taylor), Hillary (Christopher Barrie), and, while in Africa, Kosa (Djimon Hounsou). Oh, and lest I forget, there is a love interest for Lara, Sheridan (Gerard Butler), that Lara rescues from a Russian prison. In this game of double cross over what the golden orb reveals, who can trust whom?

In the second film of this series, Angelina Jolie has settled into her role and seems comfortable with it all. She did many of her stunts and looks marvelously physical. There are the obligatory toss-away lines, such as Lara "dropping in" by parachute onto the back of a small speeding truck driven by Kosa. This film is reminiscent of the James Bond films--but with a female star. There is also the obligatory scene where the villain gathers potential buyers into one room for intimidation (in the Bond films, someone would fall through the floor at this point). Two stunts stand out. The first is an escape by jumping from near the top of the world's tallest building, located in the Far East. Lara uses a jump suit for specialized sky-diving that was featured in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttleand the IMAX_film Adrenaline Rush. Another is a fight scene in a room filled with life-sized terra-cotta Chinese warrior statues laid out like a chessboard. Overall, the special effects are just above average.

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life gives new meaning to the phrase "And what do you do for a living?" The theft of antiquities has been an ongoing market for thousands of years. It is dangerous, not only for crumbling and falling debris, but because many people are after the same thing and not everyone is nice about it. This film series will undoubtedly go on with more adventures for Lara. Alan Silvestri's soundtrack sets the mood for each country to which Lara travels. Director Jon De Bont has quite a grasp on the action sequences, but the editing is rough in spots (underwater sequences) and I spotted the side of a supposedly metal truck moving back and forth. The cast did well, with Lara's group having friendliness about them and Jonathan Reiss's group being stiff. Villains must not rehearse as much as the good guys.

Copyright 2003 Marie Asner
Submitted 7/29/03

Following on the success of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider,  Angelina Jolie is back in the adventure Lara Croft_ Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life. Jolie plays the title character, a wealthy English heiress who travels the globe in search of treasure and adventure. Following an earthquake in Greece, Lara uncovers a long lost tomb of treasure and is attacked by members of a crime syndicate who take the mysterious globe she has uncovered and leave her companions dead.

It is learned that the globe is the key to the mysterious Cradle of Life where the legendary Pandora's Box is said to reside. Legend tells of civilizations being destroyed should the box be opened. But an evil arms dealer, Reiss (Ciaran Hinds), who specializes in selling genetic weapons to the highest bidder, will think nothing of selling the box to the highest bidder.

To locate the gang who stole the globe, Lara enlists the help of old flame Gerrard (Terry Butler) who was imprisoned after taking to a life of crime despite his training in the intelligence community. What follows is a series of action sequences that take the duo to locales in China, Hong Kong, and Africa as they attempt to recover the globe and unlock its secrets.

The first half of the film has some nice moments and Jolie is perfectly cast as the polished yet deadly Croft. She speaks with an upper class tongue and is just as deadly with her quips as she is with all manner of weapons. What does the film in is the final part of the film. The finale was not all that interesting_ as plot points were resolved in a very perfunctory manner. A lot of logic gaps in action films are allowable, but a shark in very warm Mediterranean waters who growls and can be stopped with a single punch was laughable.

Some of the action is good, but it suffers from a weak setup. Director Jan De Bont is no stranger to action ( he was involved in Speed, Lethal Weapon 3, and Twister) but the script does not allow the characters to grow and the action scenes don't grip the audience. While better than the first film, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life is badly in need of a pulse.

Gareth Von Kallenbach 7/29/2003