Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageLara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)
Director: Simon West
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
This was not, director West insisted, a visualisation of the computer game that made the aristocratic adventurer into a virtual icon; it was a 21st century action movie based on the character of Lara, with a powerful heroine and a strong emotional undertow. So while Lara's globe-trotting adventure pits her against villain Manfred Powell (Glen) and a secret cult known as the Illuminati, her search for 'the clock of ages' is underpinned by an emotional quest - the mystery surrounding the death of her father, Lord Croft (Voight). Regrettably, precious little of this has reached the screen, and what has survived has been sliced into tiny, meaningless slivers by the staccato editing. Even so, Angelina Jolie is amazing as Lara Croft, launching herself into the action with reckless abandon and pushing beyond the sexist silliness of her projectile-breasted character into something credible and human. But not even her burning charisma can disguise the airlessness of a jerky, fragmented tale that jumps from one exotic location to the next without any explanation or flow.Author: NF
Cast & crew
Director: Simon West
Producer: Lawrence Gordon, Lloyd Levin, Colin Wilson
Cast: Angelina Jolie, Jon Voight, Noah Taylor, Iain Glen, Daniel Craig, Christopher Barrie, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Richard Johnson, Leslie Phillips, Richenda Carey full cast
Genre(s): Fantasy
Duration: 101 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Martin Provost discusses 'Séraphine'
Trevor Johnston talks to the director of 'Séraphine' about bringing a little known French painter back to life
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now