Pluskylang Great Film overall

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Justina The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The Movie Diorama Why we only got two of these I will never know (well I do know but shhhh). The sequel to my biggest guilty pleasure is actually a better film in itself. Adding a thickening agent to the plot, realistic action set pieces and far more characterisation for our eponymous protagonist. Mmhmmm this is a tasty blockbuster that really needs more love. Lara Croft is requested to stop a megalomaniac from finding the mythical Pandora's Box and unleashing a deadly weapon that could potentially destroy the world. Greek mythology, ancient temples, rural and urban China, the wild plains of Africa and, to top it all, a boat with Spongebob Squarepants on...in Chinese. It's as if Jan De Bont knew what makes my mind tick and put them all into one glorious picture! What made its predecessor so damn enjoyable was how silly the whole thing was. This time, they decided to make it slightly more realistic in terms of story and action which does make a refreshing change. No more stone statues or time storms, just guns, motorcycles and squirrel suits. Which I must say the stunt work and action set pieces were magnificent and the usage of CGI is kept to a minimum. Hooray! A multitude of beautiful backdrops including Hong Kong, Greece and Kilamanjaro which illustrates how well travelled Lara is. Angelina Jolie gave yet another committed performance although her false British accent was more noticeable. Gerard Butler gave a functional supporting role and had decent on screen chemistry with Jolie. The cheesy dialogue did help with becoming attached to these characters. Ciaran Hinds was fine as the antagonist but don't involve him in combat scenes...it's like watching a kid break apart Lego. The third act dives into the silly and concludes in a depressing manner but fortunately it's a Lara Croft film so you should only take it with a pinch of salt. Do that, and you'll have a blast like I did...for the fifteenth time...

bh_tafe3 A strong performance from Gerard Butler and genuine chemistry with his co star Angelina Jolie can't quite save this from being a poor man's sequel to an average original.Angelina returns as Lara Croft and is straight into a bikini in this rather telling omen of things to come. After her base is captured and her helpers (Chris Barrie and Noah Taylor also back for a second helping) held hostage, so poor Lara is forced to enlist the help of former lover and charming rogue Terry Sheridan (Gerard Butler) to find the Cradle of Life, a mystical ancient relic that is capable of solving all of her problems. Jolie and Butler have genuine chemistry and run away from a few cool set pieces, make out on a boat and generally have the only worthwhile character interactions in this movie. The ending does pack quite a punch and was probably a little bleak for some.Djimon also comes along for the ride while Ciaran Hinds is a pretty unremarkable baddie straight off a production line. Director Jan de Bont, the much derided Twister helmer, does a decent job of the action sequences, but doesn't illicit anything of value from his minor players. In the end the audience is left with Jolie and Butler to keep them interested, but any good will from that is lost by the unsettling conclusion.It's not awful, but not up to the only average standard set by the original. Happily within a year National Treasure would hit the cinemas and we would all forget that this film existed. Below average, but not completely worthless.

SnoopyStyle Adventuress Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie) is diving the lost Luna Temple of Alexander the Great in Greece and discovers a glowing orb. They are attacked by Chen Lo and his men. Lara barely escapes. Meanwhile, mad scientist Jonathan Reiss (Ciarán Hinds) is searching for the mythical Pandora's Box which the glowing orb is the key to. MI6 needs Lara's help to go after Chen Lo who plans to sell the orb to Reiss. Lara gets Terry Sheridan (Gerard Butler) released to go on the hunt with her.Lara explains that in 2300BC, an Egytian Pharoah located the Cradle of Life and Pandora's Box which contains a plague or anti-life. The Box destroyed the Pharoah's army and he sent it away to India to be hidden. Alexander the Great rediscovered the Box, returned it back to Cradle of Life, and its location on the Orb.The story is way more complicated than it needs to be. There is so much exposition to get through at the start. It may work for a video game, but it doesn't work well for a story. This is basically a female James Bond but only more ridiculous. At least, the first one had the fun of something new and shinny. This one repeats the same formula but it feels old. The outrageous action feels tired. The exotic locations aren't quite so exotic since most of it takes place out in the wilderness or on an obvious sound stage. Even wing gliding over Hong Kong feels slow and boring. Lara is as cold as ever and Gerard Butler doesn't add enough heat. In a sophomore movie of a franchise, they need to go bigger or go home. They didn't go big enough.

Anssi Vartiainen I'm torn about this film. On the other hand, I cannot quite pinpoint the differences between this and the original Lara Croft film, and yet it feels inferior in every aspect. But why is that? Why do I feel that this isn't as good as the original. Well, novelty might be one explanation. The first Tomb Raider was fresh, new, something we hadn't seen before. This one is just the first one with a new coat of paint, which is never a good thing.One explanation might also be that I don't really like Gerard Butler's Terry Sheridan as a character. The first Tomb Raider was great because the focus was on Lara. She was the undisputed hero of her own story. In this one I feel that they regretted that decision and decided to add some unneeded masculinity into the mix. And yes, this is hypocritical, because if any sequel to a male lead adventure film decided to add a kickass female character, I wouldn't complain at all. Unfortunately, that's the world we live in, and I cannot lie about how I feel about Terry.I also miss the interplay between Lara and her father. The first film was very focused on her character and the stages were personal. Not so much in this film. Lara quests for the Cradle of Life, not because it means something to her personally, but because she's ordered to do so and she just went: "Yeah, I didn't have anything planned for the weekend anyway." A workable solution if you don't have anything else, but it's a bit on the weak side.Otherwise the movie is pretty much identical to the first one. Gorgeous locations, great stunt sequences, imaginative action scenes and Angelina Jolie is as great as always, although the need to cover her up in order to cover her tattoos is a crime against humanity. So, if you liked the first one, I'd give this one a watch as well. It's not quite as good, but it's not noticeably worse either. If you didn't like it, this won't change your opinion.