Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life Review
by John Sylva (DeWyNGaLe AT aol DOT com)July 25th, 2003
LARA CROFT TOMB RAIDER: THE CRADLE OF LIFE (2003)
Reviewed by John Sylva
© 2003, TheMovieInsider.com
A more apt title for Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life might have been Tomb Raider 2: Revenge Against John Sylva, Film Critic. Just two years after I dismissed the first installment in the Tomb Raider franchise as a "dud of a blockbuster" that "expects the viewer to destroy all sense of common logic while viewing" it comes its sequel-and it is with complete shock that I report director Jan de Bont has managed to eliminate nearly everything that made Simon West's original film such a disaster and has replaced it with a remarkable knowledge of how to show the viewer a good time. Excessive plot that gets in the way of heroine Lara Croft letting loose, seemingly random excursions around the world that lead ultimately to nowhere, and giant, ridiculous six-armed statues that magically spur to life-yes, it's all gone. And in its place is an inventive story that never becomes too self-important, wonderful locations on three different continents that serve actual purposes within the plot, and compelling villains both in human and not-so-human form that feel fresh even when their motivations are rather familiar. Somehow, de Bont has done a complete 360 with this picture-and, as a film critic who sits through countless sequels that merely rehash what has come before them, I must pay the highest compliment possible to a franchise of this sort in saying that Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life has left me highly anticipating a third chapter in the series.
That's not to say this is exactly the stuff of Kubrick, however: de Bont goes overboard with phony digital effects in the film's climax as supernatural forces are unleashed, much as he did with 1999's slipshod remake of The Haunting. Also hindering the continent-hopping fun is an excessive amount of needless slow-motion shots that bring several otherwise stellar action sequences to a screeching halt; de Bont even slows down time for a kiss between Lara and her lover, which elicited more than a few laughs from the preview audience.
Still, the many strengths of The Cradle of Life are as clear as day. A plot involving the potential unleashing of Pandora's Box upon the world by a madman scientist (Ciaran Hinds) is rather interesting, even fascinating, really, as screenwriter Dean Georgaris has infused the potentially eye-rolling proceedings with a surprising amount of subtext involving not only the mythology of Pandora's Box but the morality of one's possessing such a great artifact. The question of whether or not "everything lost is meant to be found" runs amuck here, making Lara's journey more humane than those featured in similar action adventures and thus engaging the viewer on a more personal level. And when the film's not wrapped up in plot, it's light on its feet with numerous action sequences that make inventive use of parachutes, bamboo sticks, rope-climbing, killer sharks, and, naturally, good old-fashioned gunplay.
Of course none of this would work without Angelina Jolie: The actress once again inhabits Lara Croft's skin with verve, this time creating a much deeper, more sincere heroine whose passion lies not only in adventure but in ensuring that nature is as it should be-at peace. Jolie handles Lara's interaction with a notorious British traitor named Terry Sheridan (Gerard Butler) particularly well; though his mission is to help her track down the Chinese gang that possesses the key to Pandora's Box and a long-winded romance between the two is suggested on several occasions, Jolie's edgy, unpredictable behavior towards him never allows one to know whether Croft wants to kiss him or kill him.
I don't know why I'm so generous towards Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life; it's really little more than an installment in the James Bond series on one of its better days. But I guess it's just the pleasure of watching Hollywood, for once, work itself out of a hole instead of dig itself into one: If Lara Croft: Tomb Raider was "a student who does just enough to get by all of the time, just barely passing each and every class," as I described it in the summer of 2001, then The Cradle of Life is that student who has realized why he failed the first time and has stayed up long nights in order to study before taking that final exam. And it only took him one more try to get it right.
GRADE: B-
Film reviewed July 24th, 2003.
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