Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life (2003)

Why we only got two of these I will never know (well I do know but shhhh). The sequel to my biggest guilty pleasure is actually a better film in itself. Adding a thickening agent to the plot, realistic action set pieces and far more characterisation for our eponymous protagonist. Mmhmmm this is a tasty blockbuster that really needs more love. Lara Croft is requested to stop a megalomaniac from finding the mythical Pandora's Box and unleashing a deadly weapon that could potentially destroy the world. Greek mythology, ancient temples, rural and urban China, the wild plains of Africa and, to top it all, a boat with Spongebob Squarepants on...in Chinese. It's as if Jan De Bont knew what makes my mind tick and put them all into one glorious picture! What made its predecessor so damn enjoyable was how silly the whole thing was. This time, they decided to make it slightly more realistic in terms of story and action which does make a refreshing change. No more stone statues or time storms, just guns, motorcycles and squirrel suits. Which I must say the stunt work and action set pieces were magnificent and the usage of CGI is kept to a minimum. Hooray! A multitude of beautiful backdrops including Hong Kong, Greece and Kilamanjaro which illustrates how well travelled Lara is. Angelina Jolie gave yet another committed performance although her false British accent was more noticeable. Gerard Butler gave a functional supporting role and had decent on screen chemistry with Jolie. The cheesy dialogue did help with becoming attached to these characters. Ciaran Hinds was fine as the antagonist but don't involve him in combat scenes...it's like watching a kid break apart Lego. The third act dives into the silly and concludes in a depressing manner but fortunately it's a Lara Croft film so you should only take it with a pinch of salt. Do that, and you'll have a blast like I did...for the fifteenth time...

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. Angelina Jolie is brilliant casted as Tomb Raider and owns every single scene she is in from punching a shark to riding a motorcycle. Gerard Butler, Til Schweiger and Ciarán Hinds are also great in their parts. The action is dazzling and it does feel like being inside a videogame at times, the effects are alright for their time and even tho it's not as great as the first film it's still a good videogame film in a Franchise that gets alot of hate for nothing and i hope that the Remake is at least decent or even as good as this film or the one before it. (9/10)

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

A strong performance from Gerard Butler and genuine chemistry with his co star Angelina Jolie can't quite save this from being a poor man's sequel to an average original.Angelina returns as Lara Croft and is straight into a bikini in this rather telling omen of things to come. After her base is captured and her helpers (Chris Barrie and Noah Taylor also back for a second helping) held hostage, so poor Lara is forced to enlist the help of former lover and charming rogue Terry Sheridan (Gerard Butler) to find the Cradle of Life, a mystical ancient relic that is capable of solving all of her problems. Jolie and Butler have genuine chemistry and run away from a few cool set pieces, make out on a boat and generally have the only worthwhile character interactions in this movie. The ending does pack quite a punch and was probably a little bleak for some.Djimon also comes along for the ride while Ciaran Hinds is a pretty unremarkable baddie straight off a production line. Director Jan de Bont, the much derided Twister helmer, does a decent job of the action sequences, but doesn't illicit anything of value from his minor players. In the end the audience is left with Jolie and Butler to keep them interested, but any good will from that is lost by the unsettling conclusion.It's not awful, but not up to the only average standard set by the original. Happily within a year National Treasure would hit the cinemas and we would all forget that this film existed. Below average, but not completely worthless.