Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life

As Seen On DVD

I'm not a great fan of the computer game, mainly because I don't have the inclination to go wandering around corridors, aimlessly, in the belief that I'll find a box or a secret or whatever it is that you are supposed to find. But I am assured that it is a wonderful game by no lesser authority than my girlfriend. I do support the concept of a strong female role model for young girls (even though the depiction of Lara Croft may be a little more, um, pneumatic than is strictly necessary, but that's what happens when you let boys create a woman for a computer game) and this translates to the world of film, where we can never have enough strong female characters in a patriarchal medium.

The first film was a bit of a mess, with no tombs or any raiding of them, which suggests that the film-makers hadn't really got the point. Some nicely executed set pieces, allowing Angelina Jolie to look athletic, resourceful, strong and graceful, while sending them all around the world for nice locations. Apart from that, it was a bit of a shambles, if not an actual embarrassment. The second in the hoped-for franchise is an improvement, but not by much.

The Cradle of Life flows a little better than its predecessor, and Angelina is the perfect Lara, with the correct, um, proportions to match the attitude and the clipped accent. The story seems to have had a bit more thought put it into it, but tries to ignore it for the sake of an exciting set piece. The early scenes (where she actually raids a tomb for a change) suffer from exposition-it is, with lots of dialogue starting with, "What's this, Lara?" and "Lara, what are we doing here?" that grate on the ear. The central idea, that of Pandora's Box containing the nastiest poison in the world and so shouldn't be opened, is quite a nice play with myth and a little history. However, the villain seems a bit silly, his henchmen quite useless and, similar to the first film, has the villain and Lara team up at the end, even though they have been fighting for the preceding 90 minutes, which seems rather pointless.

Noah Taylor as the techie and Chris Barrie as the butler are in the film, barely, only for the purposes of maintaining the franchise and as risible comic relief. They are involved in the end of the film, which has the feeling of the end of '70s American TV programme, due to a feeble joke at the end before the credits. The film sometimes feel like a collection of adverts for a package holiday, with all its loving shots of exotic locations, but Jan de Bont does an okay job for a man trying to keep his career after having directed Speed 2, and you are left with the feeling that there might be some life in the idea of Lara Croft in another film.

Rating: VID