Director: Simon West
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Daniel Craig, Leslie Phillips, Mark Collie, Jon Voight, Noah Taylor, Chris Barrie, Iain Glen

- Reviewed by Kerri

I really liked this film. I never played the video game but felt I had enough background on it to enjoy the movie. I wasn’t expecting much, especially with the opening pseudo-erotic fight scene with Croft wiggling under a robotic monster (the climax of which caused me to remark to webmistress Linda that I needed a cigarette), but the movie just got better. 

I thought the plot was great; who was expecting anything more? The fact that there even was some attempt at a story pleased me, I guess. I fully expected two straight hours of ass-kicking but there was surprisingly little of that and more story setup. I found this movie to emulate Stargate in many ways (another movie I liked very much). 

Angelina Jolie made the perfect Laura Croft; her facial expressions and sly smirks added a personality to the flick that I can only imagine the video game is missing. She seemed smart, brave, and composed as well as full of emotion. Okay, maybe the parts with her father (real-life papa Jon Voight) were a little over the top, but since the whole movie is just eye-candy anyway they seemed to fit. 

The fight scenes among ruins got me hook, line, and sinker. How can you not love Laura Croft jumping onto a swinging obelisk to smash a glass eye that holds the key to time? Or the scene where the villains jump through her castle windows as she rappels around the walls, smashing chandeliers and pistol-whipping bad guys in one fell swoop? What’s a girl to do but hop on her motorbike, take a guy out sideways, and race off at 100 miles an hour? Excellent. 

I loved the smarmy villains, the cute love-interest-nemesis, the sidekick nerdy guy and the charming butler as well. Sure there were plot-holes but if anyone was going to this movie expecting deep storylines then they’ll be disappointed. Sit back and enjoy the ride; I sure did.

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