Sunday 18 October 2015

I've Just Seen: Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)

http://cdn.movieclips.com/keyart/285985x480.jpg
Director: Simon West

This wasn't really my choice; my sister had asked me to record it, and when time came for her to watch it, ended up joining her. I think she was more entertained by my reaction to the film than the film itself. It has been a while since I have seen a Hollywood popcorn blockbuster, particularly one this old (14 years is old in terms of technology).

One of the few positive things I will say about the film is the commitment of Jolie's performance. Sure it verges on the edge of cartoon, but Jolie does it well, and holds her own in the action sequences. It also uses many in-camera effects; I can imagine today there would be a lot more CGI.

Apart from that, this is a mess. The plot is at a 'aye, what?' level of confusing; I cannot tell you what it was about other than something about Croft's father. It is clearly going for a similar style to Indiana Jones, but fails to be that entertaining. It dated, and is not that beautiful to look at; the production design should have been more engaging.

On a slightly different note, while Jolie is the toughest character in the film, she barely interacts with another woman; nor are there any other women as characters. I know that the target audience for the film would have been teenage boys, but it is still a problem. I don't think the filmmakers were going for a its-hard-to-be-a-woman-in-a-man's-world plot, so why not at least have some women in the crowd sequences and as part of the group excavating for Ian Glen.

Not good, with very little to recommend it.

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