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Tomb Raider... |
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Movie
Review: Tomb Raider
Starring: Angelina Jolie,
Daniel Craig, Leslie Phillips, Rachel Appleton, Chris Barrie, Ian Glen, Richard
Johnson, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Noah Taylor, Jon Voight
Director: Simon West |
Angelina Jolie is Lara Croft, British archeologist,
linguist, and heroine of the video game "Tomb Raider." |
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Lady Croft lives in a castle that makes Buckingham Palace
look like a summer cottage.
Crafty Croft wields knives, guns, even while maneuvering a slick motorcycle. Director
Simon West gives her the look and feel of Batman . She's seldom scared, even when
challenged by many well-armed bad guys or computer-generated attack-statues. More often,
she's spiritual in her practice or melancholy while daydreaming about her late father
whose journals lay out her purpose in this film. Coincidentally, her father is played by
John Voight ... |
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Angelina's real life father.
Quite relaxing for an action movie, "Tomb Raider's" in-betweens ease with gentle
meditative preparation and confidence for the big fight scenes. Jolie's introspective
serenity coupled with the cinematographer's |
slick rolling shots (always with an eye for spectacle)
provide the film with plenty of calming scenery. In fact, you'll be taken to the ends of
the Earth: London, Venice, Cambodia, Iceland. You'll paddle through a floating market in
Asia and dogsled across a snowy "dead-zone" near the Arctic Circle.
As the planets align (only once every 5000 years), a secret society seeks to re-unite the
two halves of the hidden triangle of time ... giving them the power of god. Unless Lara
Croft can connect the pieces of the puzzle first, the world will not likely survive the
inevitable abuse of this power. In short, our hero must "save time." |
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Lara wrestles a robot spider twice her size, but that's just a teaser for the real action.
Of particular delight, her bungy cord exercises that swiftly become combat maneuvers when
her mansion falls under siege. In |
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fact, aside from some non-threatening cg-statue foes, most
of the visual conflict is exciting, creative and well captured on film.
The dialogue stumbles a bit, especially at the outset and finish, climaxing with schmaltzy
near-dribble. The arch bad guy, Powell, however, more often than not articulates fairly
well, "It's a pleasurable torment. My ignorance amuses me." Fortunately, the
director punctuates the film with silence.
As is the case with superheroes, their archenemies all too often fail to just shoot |
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them when they have the chance. Lara is no exception. Additionally,
"Tomb Raider" feels overplayed,
continuing with a hand-to-hand bout after the fate of the planet has been decided. These
imperfections |
steal from the picture's otherwise deserved intensity.
All in all, "Tomb Raider" flaunts some prime choice art direction, set design
and cinematography. For the most part, this respectable cast tells the story well, feeding
bite-sized clues to the audience instead of biting our heads off with exposition.
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