Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)

My Review

“Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” is the story of adventurer Lara Croft’s race against time to locate half of a mysterious object called “The Triangle” which must be joined together before the next solar eclipse. She is competing with the Illuminati, who also desire the object in order to control the world. Director Simon West (“Con Air” 1997) put together a well-paced action-adventure film based on the Tomb Raider video game. The script was written by Patrick Massett and John Zinman, with the story by Sara B. Cooper.

Angelina Jolie is the star of the show, personifying the title character. Her performance is excellent, and is joined by her father Jon Voight in one extended scene, where details of their personal lives appear to be mixed in with the film’s dialogue. Co-stars include Ian Glen as the leader of the Illuminati, Daniel Craig (five years before becoming James Bond), Noah Taylor, Richard Johnson, Julian Rind-Tutt, Leslie Phillips, and Christopher Barrie as Lara’s butler. The very watchable “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” was a hit at the box office for BBC Films, Lawrence Gordon Productions, Mutual Film Company, Eidos Interactive Ltd., Tele Munchen Group, Marubeni Corporation, Toho Towa Ltd., and Paramount Pictures.

“Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” was nominated for Best Science Fiction Film at the Saturn Awards, and Angelina Jolie was nominated for Best Butt Kicker at the Kid’s Choice Awards and also nominated for Worst Actress at the Golden Raspberry Awards. A sequel called “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life” was released in 2003 starring Angelina Jolie, Gerard Butler, and Ciaran Hinds.