(Review originally written at 28 January 2004)
A weak story and sloppy editing makes this movie a disappointing one, a shame because it had lot's of potential which such a great director attached to the project.
The main problem is the extremely unrealistic story and action that is without any logic. The story really feels like an huge Indiana Jones rip off and uses lot's of elements used in the Indy movies but the execution of the story is weak, especially when you compare it to the Indy movies. The action itself is at moments pretty cool and there are some truly awesome scene's and fight choreography but however it's extremely unlikely even for an action movie based on a video game and the sloppy editing also doesn't do any good to the action.
The movie moves in a too fast pace where too much is happening in a too short amount of time. The action happens too quickly and is over too fast, just when it is starting to get interesting. The story also doesn't feel as a whole. It feels like a movie with just some scene's attached to each other without them having to do anything with each other.
But sure, there also are some things that are good about this movie. Such as the cast, Angelina Jolie is perfect for her role and no I am not only just talking about her looks but also about her acting abilities. She seems to be born to wear the Lara Croft outfit. A great move was casting Ciarán Hinds as the main villain because he is such a great actor and he pulls of really well in this movie. The movie also contains lot's of fun and humor which is I think mainly thanks to Jan de Bont's directing. Also the fine cinematography is notable.
The special effects are very uneven. At times they are perfect and at times they are extremely fake looking.
Still I believe that Lara Croft still has all the potential to become a great action hero and has elements to make a good film about. Better luck next time...
4/10
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