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I'm
not a big video game fan, but I was still excited at the
prospect of Tomb Raider. It's about a year and a half
since I first heard in awed tones - 'Did you hear Angelina
Jolie is playing Lara Croft?'. While the noughties
have been slow to find their groove, floundering in the
wake of the booming nineties, I felt Lara Croft might just
be the icon to help define the decade. I thought she had
the potential to become the first big feminist icon of the
21st century, giving a new meaning to the girl power of
the nineties. Okay, she's hardly Germaine Greer.
She's more the Charlies Angel's variety - butt
kicking, boob flashing, cool with being naked in the
shower. Which means of course that gay guys love her, as
indeed we should.
So what is tomb raider all about? A once every 5000
years alignment of all the planets in our solar system is
seven days away, and a sinister organisation based in
Venice want to obtain the two halves of an ancient missing
triangle, which will grant the possessor the power of god.
In ancient times, the destructive power of the triangle
was realised, and it was split in two, both halves being
hidden at the far corners of the earth in dangerous tombs.
Before his death, Lara's dad, Lord Croft, was involved in
searching for these halves. He has left numerous
clues to enable a now grown up Lara to solve the mystery
and keep the triangle out of the reach of the baddies and
thus prevent world domination.
So not a bad little plot, but what is made of it?
The action is set variously in the lush English
countryside, central London, Cambodia, Venice and
somewhere snowy resembling the North Pole. ? The
interior tomb locations look good, but for some reason
never really come across as original. The movie
races along at breakneck speed. The plot element
relating to Lara father is poignantly treated, becoming a
key element of the story line towards the end.
The high point of the movie has to be Angelina Jolie's
portrayal of Lara Croft. I can't think of any actor
today who could so well play the gorgeous, dangerous, and
utterly beautiful tomb raider. This American wild
child has her very British accent down to a tee, and her
style throughout epitomises chic cool. However, we
never really get to know the character. For all the
strength we know Lara has, and for all we see of her
kicking baddies around, we know nothing more about her at
the end, except perhaps that she cares about her dad, and
is a goodie at heart.
At the end of the day, Tomb Raider delivers what people
expect and want from quality summer cinema. It
provides enough excitement and entertainment to keep the
average punter happy. However one can't help
thinking that an opportunity has been missed. Lara
and the great locations are there, but the great movie
hasn't been delivered
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