Tweekums After an earthquake in Greece treasure hunters are searching the sea bed to see what they can find. These include Lara Croft but she believes the others are looking in the long place. She is convinced that the Luna Temple where Alexander the Great hid his greatest treasures is nearby and sure enough she finds it. Once inside she discovers a mysterious orb but before she can remove it the villain Chen Lo turns up, kills her companions and takes the orb.After being rescued she is approached by members of MI6 who want her to recover the orb. It turns out that it contains directions to the Cradle of Life where Pandora's Box of Greek mythology is believed to have been hidden. They state that Jonathan Reiss, a Nobel Prize winning scientist who has become a bio-terrorist is also after the box because it contains a virus for which there is no cure. Lara accepts the challenge but insists that that former colleague/lover Terry Sheridan is released from prison as he is the only person she knows who can get her close to Chen Lo. Their adventure will take them to Mainland China and Hong Kong before they finally discover the Cradle of Life in East Africa.When I watched the first Lara Croft movie I didn't expect it to be that good but found myself rather enjoying it; enough to give this sequel a go. I'm glad I did as it is at least as much fun as the original. The story is of course a bit silly but that doesn't matter; it is fun and provides lots of exciting action. This includes plenty of fights and shootouts, CGI monsters and an impressive wing-suit jump from a Hong Kong skyscraper. Angelina Jolie does an impressive job as Lara Croft, making the highly unlikely seem believable… she also looks great in costumes designed to show her off to her best! Ciarán Hinds also impresses as the villainous Jonathan Reiss, thankfully he plays the character straight rather than as a pantomime villain. Gerard Butler is solid enough as Sheridan but the character isn't as interesting as he could be. The special effects are pretty good even if it is fairly obvious that most of them are CGI. Overall I'd recommend this to anybody who enjoyed the first film or just wants a solid action film with a few fantasy elements.

Python Hyena Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003): Dir: Jan De Bont / Cast: Angelina Jolie, Gerard Butler, Noah Taylor, Ciaran Hinds, Djimon Hounsou: About as much fun as being thrown down a flight of stairs and landing in a huge pile of nails. What is the cradle of life? It sounds like an episode of Rugrats. This is yet another Hollywood excuse to show off special effects while intelligence is neglected. Laura Croft kicks the crap out of villains in search for an orb and Pandora's Box. It winds down to Croft being sent on a mission and beating people up…and beating up more people…and beating up even more people. It all ends when there is no one left to beat up. She decides to surprise us and shoot her last victim. One of Jan De Bont's worst films and that is quite the achievement to create something that is even worse than Speed 2: Cruise Control. He also directed the original Speed as well as the remake of The Haunting. Angelina Jolie is reciting something that wasn't good the first time around, let alone worthy of a sequel. She looks the part but acting is far from her biggest concern with this film. The production values rapidly become the entire film and replace the actors as the film's real star. Gerard Butler, Ciaran Hinds, Djimon Hounsou, and Noah Taylor appear in what amounts to nothing. Pointless encore of stupidity that should crushed in a vise. Score: 1 / 10

gengar843 As you may be aware, this film is fictional, and therefore I will not be speaking to whether sharks growl, or if black acid pools exist.What I will be saying is that a film doesn't have to be a national treasure in order to be top-notch. All it has to do is play its cards correctly.Female heroine. Superb. She's not jaded, not a feminist, and she's a romantic. VERY unique in the world of film where women heroes are supposed to out-man the man. She's tough, clever, smart, worldly, well-connected, great-looking, and still has a soft spot for the skyline of Hong Kong.Male anti-hero. Nicely held together. Gerard Butler is absolutely smashing here, never better. His repartee with Lara is simple but high on the keen level, so kudos to the screenwriter. As Lara, skilled, connected, and just a bit flawed in the moral department makes Terry ripe for his own death.The action. The pace on this film is on par with almost any James Bond movie. The lulls are few and contain interesting scenery, mainly travelogue. We go to Africa, Greece, and China, on location. Jolie's prowess is truly on display, martial arts, weaponry, horseback, climbing, acrobatics. While some aspects feel rushed, most are just right. The stunts are tremendous and hardly anything looks fake, even if it is a movie.The plot. A bit thin after the initial setup. Mostly, this is a chase and be chased film. Some Bond, some Bourne, some Indiana Jones. The villain is centered correctly, only becoming unhinged at the very end. I think Reiss' toughness was overrated and the finale fight with Lara was about 30 seconds too long, since she is obviously superior in every way to his wild gunslinging. The orb was QUITE interesting, and the Greek mythology mixed with origins of life was, of course, a rip from The Lost Ark, among others. This was not distracting, actually, as there is little to go wrong when a plot centers around, essentially, the power of God.Special Effects. The guardians of the canyon were fun and slight, just right for this type of film, intense but not evil enough to spill this to demonic. Their movements were exciting, and the way they guard/kill quite interesting, by absorbing the humans into the terrain. The box itself was somewhat of an anticlimax, not being opened long enough to produce havoc.Dialogue. Not riveting, but not boring or annoying. A straight shot.Is Alien a better franchise? Terminator? Star Trek? Star Wars? Obviously yes. But you will be hard-pressed to find a more well-rounded film than this one, where fun and excitement meet sincere movie-making.

SnoopyStyle Adventuress Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie) is diving the lost Luna Temple of Alexander the Great in Greece and discovers a glowing orb. They are attacked by Chen Lo and his men. Lara barely escapes. Meanwhile, mad scientist Jonathan Reiss (Ciarán Hinds) is searching for the mythical Pandora's Box which the glowing orb is the key to. MI6 needs Lara's help to go after Chen Lo who plans to sell the orb to Reiss. Lara gets Terry Sheridan (Gerard Butler) released to go on the hunt with her.Lara explains that in 2300BC, an Egytian Pharoah located the Cradle of Life and Pandora's Box which contains a plague or anti-life. The Box destroyed the Pharoah's army and he sent it away to India to be hidden. Alexander the Great rediscovered the Box, returned it back to Cradle of Life, and its location on the Orb.The story is way more complicated than it needs to be. There is so much exposition to get through at the start. It may work for a video game, but it doesn't work well for a story. This is basically a female James Bond but only more ridiculous. At least, the first one had the fun of something new and shinny. This one repeats the same formula but it feels old. The outrageous action feels tired. The exotic locations aren't quite so exotic since most of it takes place out in the wilderness or on an obvious sound stage. Even wing gliding over Hong Kong feels slow and boring. Lara is as cold as ever and Gerard Butler doesn't add enough heat. In a sophomore movie of a franchise, they need to go bigger or go home. They didn't go big enough.