4K/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Reviews

4K Ultra HD Review: “Tomb Raider” 2-Movie Collection Is Boisterous, Rousing Entertainment


 

 

Video game adventurer Lara Croft comes to life in a movie where she races against time and villains to recover powerful ancient artifacts.

I’ve been a huge “Tomb Raider” fan since the first game was introduced to the world in 1996. I’ve played all the games in the series and thought the most recent iteration, “Shadow of the Tomb Raider,” was the best to date. The new movie, simply titled “Tomb Raider,” and starring Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft, hit theaters in March of 2018 and was based on the 2013 game of the same name with some scenes from the new movie’s trailer taken directly from that game. But first, we need to go back in time, 2001 to be exact. When Paramount Pictures announced that they were making a film adaptation of the “Tomb Raider” game series and Angelina Jolie would be playing the game’s lead protagonist, fanboys around the world, including yours truly, were beyond excited. As more and more images of her dressed up in Lara Croft’s customary costume, including tank top, light brown shorts, calf-high boots, and tall white socks were released, anticipation for the movie went into overdrive. Of course, Lara’s outfit wouldn’t be complete without her trusty sidekicks: a 9mm Heckler & Koch USP Match with stainless slides. Two to be precise. Everything looked legit. Until the movie was released.

Granted, it made a lot of money but it was a big letdown, especially for the die-hard fans of the games who had been waiting patiently for the big-screen adaptation. My particular issue was that for a movie that was based on a game series where the heroine spends most of her time raiding tombs and temples and dodging booby traps, the big screen counterpart spent more time in Lara’s mansion in Surrey, England, and traveling around the world to various exotic locales than in the tombs listed in the title. Angelina Jolie was perfectly cast as Lara Croft, even her English accent was spot on and director Simon West (“Con Air,” “The Expendables 2”) handled the action scenes superbly but as I stated earlier, with most of them happening everywhere but in a tomb.

Lara Croft lives in Croft Manor in England along with her butler Hillary (Chris Barrie) and resident tech guy Bryce (Noah Taylor). When she discovers an ancient clock in a hidden room in the manor, within the clock there is a key that she realizes is linked to the Triangle of Light, and she remembers her father talking about it many years ago before his death, stating that once the two missing pieces of the Triangle are brought together, it will give its possessor power over time and space. With the first phase of a planetary alignment which will culminate in a solar eclipse only a few days away, Lara must travel to Cambodia to find the first half of the Triangle before the eclipse. Naturally, she has competition in ruthless Manfred Powell (Iain Glen), a member of the Illuminati who is also searching for the Triangle for his and the Illuminati’s nefarious reasons. Along the way, both Lara and Manfred, each realizing that the other has a piece of the puzzle that they both need in order to retrieve the other half of the Triangle, agree to partner together. Heading out to Siberia, they discover an ancient tomb and in order for the Triangle to fuse together before the final phase of the planetary alignment, they must find the last piece of the puzzle. Once it is unearthed, however, Manfred reveals his true intentions and Lara must do everything she can to stop him.

One of the great aspects of this film is that there is very little reliance on CGI, most of what transpires onscreen is real. The manor where Lara lives, the tombs in Cambodia and Siberia, some action scenes in between, they were all filmed on huge sets without CGI, something you would not necessarily see in a movie today. Angelina Jolie embodies Lara Croft perfectly, her mannerisms, character traits, they’re all taken straight out of the games and projected onto the big screen for all to see. It’s just a shame the film couldn’t give the fans what its title promises: plenty of tomb raiding.

 

 

 

 

 
Adventurer Lara Croft goes on a quest to save the mythical Pandora’s Box before an evil scientist finds it, and recruits a former Marine turned mercenary to assist her.

Like my earlier review of this film’s predecessor, “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider,” “Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life” suffers from the exact same issues that plagued the first movie, not enough tomb raiding. Because both films were based on the popular video game, where the heroine spent most of her time in booby-trapped tombs and temples, the movies seemed to want to move away from that element, which makes no sense whatsoever as that is what the character of Lara Croft is all about. Like Indiana Jones, she is an archaeologist, therefore, exploring ancient and forgotten temples and catacombs is what she does best, it is her life. While this aspect is sorely missing from both films, they are still quite enjoyable. Like many of the actors who portrayed James Bond, with more outings, they seemed to settle more comfortably into the iconic role and here, Angelina Jolie does the same. With this being her second Lara Croft outing, she seems more at ease with her character and as a result, more assured in everything she does onscreen.

This time around, Lara is after Pandora’s Box, the legendary artifact from Greek mythology which is said to contain a virus so deadly it could wipe out the entire planet. She is racing against time and Jonathan Reiss (Ciarán Hinds), a scientist turned bio-terrorist who wants the box for his own diabolical intentions. Along the way, with the help of MI6, she releases from a Chinese prison, her old flame Terry Sheridan (Gerard Butler), a former marine turned mercenary. She does so on the condition that he help her find a mysterious magical sphere that operates as a map and which will point them to the Cradle of Life in Africa where the box is located. They discover a ruthless Chinese crimelord named Chen Lo (Simon Yam), has the sphere and is willing to sell it to Reiss but because Terry was a part of Lo’s criminal operation in the past, he should be able to get them in so they can steal it. Granted, things don’t go according to plan and once the duo are trapped in a skyrise high above Hong Kong, they must formulate an escape plan and make their way to Africa before it’s too late.

Director Jan de Bont, who spent many years as a cinematographer on such high-profile action movies like “Die Hard,” “The Hunt for Red October,” and “Lethal Weapon 3,” to name but a few, made his directorial debut with the Keanu Reeves/Sandra Bullock actioner “Speed,” in 1994, and he continued his winning streak with “Twister,” “The Haunting,” and lastly, “Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life.” A very capable director who knows how to construct magnificent action scenes and set pieces, here, he somehow fails to live up to the expectations of his previous outings. That might have something to do with the fact that the story for “Cradle of Life” is mired in mystical elements and while he dealt with similar aspects in “The Haunting,” that movie was a straight-up ghost story, while “Cradle of Life” is a combination of both action and the supernatural, a genre he apparently had trouble with. The film is fun and engaging and once again, Angelina Jolie proved that she had, without a doubt, star power, it’s just a pity the screenplay got lost along the way.

 

“Tomb Raider” 2-Movie Collection is now available on a 2-Disc 4K Ultra HD Double Feature

 

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[…] review of this film’s predecessor, “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” (you can read that review here), “Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life” suffers from the exact same issues that plagued […]

James McDonald

Originally from Dublin, Ireland, James is a Movie Critic and Celebrity Interviewer with over 30 years of experience in the film industry as an Award-Winning Filmmaker.