'Tomb Raider 2: The Cradle of Life'
(Angelina Jolie / NR / 127 mins / Paramount)
Overview: Angelina Jolie again plays Lara Croft, the video-game vixen brought to the big screen in the first Tomb Raider film. In the sequel, Croft travels across the world in hopes of finding an ancient place called the Cradle of Life, which, as legend has it, is the resting place for Pandora's box, an artifact from Greek mythology that can unleash hell upon the world.
Verdict: More capably directed, better edited and sharper-looking than the 2001 original, 'Tomb Raider 2' is a go-go-go flick for sure, though the script remains mediocre and banal. More fun and feral than its precursor, it is quickly undermined by lame romance and lamer action! In all honestly, it's computer-enhanced physical feats — rather painfully uneven in execution and representation — are here made secondary to Lara's personal evolution ... which is the movie's real downfall by far. So, 'Tomb Raider 2' may just be one more formulaic action film to add to the long list this summer, but could so easily have been so much more!
Reviewed by Russell A. Trunk