Lara Croft: Tomb Raider [Special Edition]

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Let´s give the filmmakers credit for one thing in the 2001 summer action entry "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider"--they got the "look" right. Like so many other people who own computers, I´ve been playing the "Tomb Raider" video games, the original and the third installment, for years. Whether for computer or Play Station, these games have always offered the user state-of-the-art graphics and plenty of mindless thrills. And that´s almost exactly what the new live-action movie gives us. I say "almost" because while the film looks good and is quite faithful graphically to its computer cousin, its action hardly warrants the use of the word "thrills," mindless or otherwise.

Although it is long on activity, the movie is, in fact, rather short on excitement. It quite plods along, spending more of its time posturing and trying to look good rather than actually providing any material for us to hang our mind or emotions on. In the last analysis, this cinematic "Tomb Raider" is a lifeless venture, seemingly designed to appeal to players of the video game who expect nothing more than to see the physical embodiment of their beloved heroine than actually to be entertained. Video gamers may find it enough; adventure film fans may long for more.

Angelina Jolie stars as Lady Lara Croft, and nobody could embody the part better than Jolie does. I mean, she has the right athleticism (doing most of her own stunts), the right face, the right chest. Now, I didn´t intend that last attribute to sound entirely facetious; Croft´s sex appeal was and continues to be a major draw for video gamers. It´s no wonder Ms. Jolie´s physical assets were a prime consideration in her getting the role. Except for the poorly disguised tattoo of "Billy Bob" on Jolie´s arm, she looks exactly right.

What Croft lacks is a heart, a definable personality. In the video game it´s perfectly acceptable for the superhero to be one-dimensional; gamers don´t notice and don´t care about such things so long as they are interacting with the character and the screen via their joystick. A movie is different. Without a personality, a film character is a void, an empty vessel, a soulless automaton. Think of the first "Superman" and "Batman" films, where the superheroes had heart, at least in their alter egos. As those series wound down into endless repetitions, the main characters forfeited their souls to foster plot development, and the movies lost their fascination for many viewers. Think, too, of your favorite Bond actor. Was it because you liked his personality in the role more than you liked the personalities of other actors in the part? Same here. Lady Croft has no personal life, no personality, no true persona. She´s a gorgeous cipher, a virtual nonentity, with only her blazing guns and daring acrobatics to keep us occupied.

The movie starts right out in video-game mode, with Lara battling a giant mechanical spider in a typical "Tomb Raider" setting of ancient archeological dimensions. The scene has the feel of the game and, as I´ve said, the right look. Then we get an eyeful of Lara´s palatial manor-house estate, and it, too, has the look and feel of the video game. But then nothing more happens of any interest for maybe half an hour. In fact, throughout the movie, one gets the impression that everything is leading up to something that never pays off.

The buildup includes the usual mumbo-jumbo about artifacts Lara has to find to save the world before an arch villain gets there first. In this case, she´s trying to find the second half of a "Triangle of Light" that gives its possessor "the power of God to move back and forth through time." Or some such nonsense. Her opponents are the "Illuminati, the People of the Light," a powerful secret society who are also desperate to get their hands on the triangle. Leading up the forces of darkness is Iain Glen as Manfred Powell, a suave evildoer if ever there was one. Helping Lara in flashbacks is Jolie´s real-life father, Jon Voight, as Lara´s late father, Lord Richard Croft. Along for the ride on both sides of the fence is Daniel Craig as Alex West, an old friend of Lara´s and apparently a fellow adventurer. I say "apparently" because we learn so little about these folks, it's hard to tell who most of them are or why they're there.

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