ased on the hit video game of the same name, Tomb Raider centers around the adventures of the treasure-hunting, thrill-seeking Lara Croft. Not content with the aristocratic lifestyle into which she was born, Lara spends her time between adventures developing her skills in a custom-built danger room designed by her computer-expert companion, Bryce (Taylor).
Lara's odyssey begins when she finds a mysterious ticking clock hidden away in the staircase of her spacious mansion by her deceased father. On the advice of an old acquaintance, she takes the clock to an expert named Powell (Glen). He tells her he doesn't know the clock's purpose or why it seems to be counting down to something.
Unbeknownst to her, however, Powell is working for a secret organization called the Illuminati. They seek possession of the clock, which is a part of a puzzle leading to two halves of an ancient artifact called the Triangle of Light. According to legend, when the pieces are joined at the exact moment of planetary alignment, the object gives the possessor the power to control time. This alignment is due to occur in one week and will be the last such opportunity for 5,000 years.
The night following her visit to Powell, Lara's mansion is raided by a team of armed gunmen. After a lengthy struggle, the men manage to escape with the clock. Afterward, Lara receives a posthumous letter from her father explaining the function of the clock and charging her with the destruction of the pieces so their power may not fall into the wrong hands.
Lara matches brains and brawn with Powell's expedition and fellow tomb raider Alex West (Craig) as the trail of artifacts leads her to such exotic locations as Cambodia, Venice and the Arctic Circle.
Croft is brought to life with craft
Several attempts have been made in the past to translate the success of popular video games to the screen, all with similarly disastrous results. Box office failures such as Mortal Kombat and mere footnotes like Double Dragon and Super Mario Bros. and have proven that a hit game franchise doesn't necessarily assure the commercial success of a film adaptation. What those films lacked--and what Tomb Raider has in spades--is a strong, appealing central character and a cinematic premise to build a story around.
This film delivers what it promises--a stylish thrill ride with plenty of eye candy. Besides the visual appeal of Lara herself, director Simon West and has created a sleek and exotic world for her to inhabit. Game fans will notice a nod to the source material here and there, such as the design of her mansion, which is recreated faithfully from the basic training level of the game.
As the iconic Lara Croft, Jolie has some fairly big ... boots to fill. But she is clearly up to the task. Jolie literally becomes Lara, embodying the combination of attitude, smarts and skills that made the character popular. She has some nice emotional moments as well opposite real-life dad Jon Voight, who plays Lara's father Lord Richard Croft in the film.
Tomb Raider is far from perfect, leaving much to be desired in the area of story and secondary character development. The film's climax doesn't make much sense and lacks a truly suspenseful final showdown typical of a big action movie like this. If a hero is only as good as her adversaries, then fans will have to wait for the sequel to provide Lara with a more worthy opponent.
