Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (PG-13, 2001)

The lead in TOMB RAIDER is Lady Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie), who is something of a cross between Indiana Jones, Batman, and Barbie. She lives in a huge old mansion with an Alfred-style butler and a computer geek (Noah Taylor) who helps her with technology, except when she doesn't let him – as he meticulously documents each screw he removes from an antique clock she interrupts by smashing it apart. The planets are about to align for the first time in 5000 years, which means that she has just days to collect the two pieces of a triangle that controls time from ruins on opposite sides of the globe. Meanwhile, the bad guys want it, too, and will do anything to try and stop her.

More like a video game than a movie, Tomb Raider has some great action sequences and the ever-watchable Angelina Jolie. What it does not have is much of a plot, interesting characters, or a reason to care about the outcome. A clumsy salute to Raiders of the Lost Ark is just a reminder of how much better that movie is. At least when you are playing the game you have points to keep you going. This movie sags whenever the action stops.

The action sequences are fine for the most part. Jolie has the kickboxing skills and the acting chops to deliver what people who go to this movie want to see, but the screenwriter and director let her down when it comes to the boringly generic bad guys and the missing-father motivation. I guess it is too much to expect the people behind this kind of movie to attempt to create a real character or know very much about women, but even by those standards, this movie gets it so wrong that it interferes with our connection to Lara. She is so tough that she shrugs off the near destruction of her home, but she is willing to risk her live to save a man who has done nothing but betray her. She always looks a little relieved when she gets a chance to fight, and we agree with her.

Studio: Paramount Pictures
Director: Simon West
Cast: Angelina Jolie, Daniel Craig, Jon Voight
Genre: Action/Adventure
Run time: 100 minutes
Theatrical release: June 15, 2001
DVD release: November 13, 2001
MPAA Rating: PG-13
MPAA explanation: action violence and some sensuality