Memorial Day Weekend is the official start of the summer season – which means for the next 3 months, movies abandon deep and thoughtful plots and dramatic stories in exchange for explosions, chases, fights, and fun. The air conditioned darkness of a movie theater is a great escape from the summer heat, and a chilled living room with cold beer and a dvd can work as well.
The video game industry continues to soar to unbelievable heights, and many times a popular video game story finds its way to the big screen. I’m not sure its possible to find a better human representation of a video game character than that of Angelina Jolie in the role of iconic console adventurer Lara Croft, and the debut cinematic portrayal of said video game icon comes courtesy of the 2001 Simon West piece “Tomb Raider.”
Croft first dazzled gamers with the 1996 PlayStation system, breaking ground as a female protagonist in a male dominated industry. Jolie is the spitting image of the cartoon Croft, with dark hair pulled into a braid, sultry eyes and those pouting lips. That Jolie is packed perfectly in Croft’s trademark skin tight attire is nothing less than a bonus.
“Tomb Raider” is a great movie to launch the summer season. The allure of a video game character such as Lara Croft is stemmed from the mystique of action without the deficit of pain or death. In “Tomb Raider,” protagonist Lara Croft is a sophisticated woman with exceptional skills in fighting and gymnastics, tucked away in a Bruce Wayne like secluded mansion, complete with high price gadgetry and a handful of servants.
A backstory reveals that Croft is also a skilled archaeologist in the mold of an Indiana Jones (though her opponents come in the form of supernatural monsters in lieu of Nazis). Her father (played by Jolie’s real life dad Jon Voight) was also a skilled archaeologist who trained her, but has been missing for some time.
Croft is in a race against time to locate the missing pieces of an artifact called the Triangle of Light. If the relic isn’t recovered in one weeks time, it will be another 5,000 years before the next solar eclipse that is used in conjunction.
In true archaeological fashion, Croft has rivals that want to retrieve the artifact themselves for more dubious reasons. Characters played by Daniel Craig and Iain Glen of Game of Thrones fame have the same tenacity as Indiana Jones’ chief rival Rene Belloq. No other job can compare to archaeology when it comes to deadly and lifelong rivalries.
At 1:40, “Tomb Raider” is a perfect length and sitting through it, the result was exactly as I thought it would be going in. There are great action scenes, some cool effects like ancient statues coming to life to defend their crypt from the raiders, and of course the illustrious Lara Croft, jumping about armed with dual baller pistols, and kicking ass in outfits so skimpy they would make a hooker blush. In one scene she dons leather and speeds through the alleys of Venice on a crotch rocket. Wow…
“Tomb Raider” was Angelina Jolie’s first starring role, and she plays the character Lara Croft in a fun and enjoyable way. She’s cute and funny and behind the scenes features on the dvd reveal the extensive training Jolie endured to get in shape for the role. Its tough not to watch and feel more impressed by her work.
I would have liked to see more action and less table setting. Since the movie has such a weak plot and lack of character depth, tossing in a few more fight scenes and unique monsters would have made for a better show.
Video games mixed with a beautiful woman. Its like every boys dream come true. “Tomb Raider” is a fun watch. It has its Pitfalls (pun intended) but what it tries to do it does well.
by – Matt Christopher
