Lara Croft Tomb Raider : The Cradle Of Life

Based on the Lara Croft series of `Tomb Raider' video games, `Cradle Of Life' comes after the critical and creative drubbing `Tomb 1' took back in 2001. The years have been kind to Croft and this new adventure is a large improvement over the original. Does that mean all is well in Lara Croft land? Sorry to say, but all the breasts, guns, and monsters aren't enough to save this franchise.

After raiding an underwater kingdom off the coast of Greece, Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie) has come across a golden orb that many other, more villainous, men want as well. After being thwarted by an international bio-terrorist (Ciaran Hinds, `The Sum Of All Fears`), Lara goes after the orb when she learns that its mystical clues could very well lead her to Pandora's Box. Recruiting a past lover, Terry Sheridan (Gerard Butler, `Dracula 2000'), for help, Lara and he travel to China, Hong Kong, and ultimately to Africa to stop the terrorist from opening the Box and destroying the world.

It's hard to hold too much against `Tomb 2' if only because it is such a vast improvement on `Tomb 1.' The producers wisely dropped director Simon West (`Con Air,' `The General's Daughter') from the creative roster; he brought a mechanical, derivative edge to the film, along with a story that was a wet blanket of confusion and frustration. West also focused far too much on the sexual aspect of Lara Croft, giving joystick-ready teenage boys plenty to pant over, but little to excite them. Replacing West for the sequel is Jan De Bont. De Bont already mastered the action genre with his 1994 classic, `Speed,' but has fallen on hard times recently (`The Haunting'), which lead him to direct this sequel. De Bont isn't excited by the same ideas that West had for the franchise, electing to lead with more adventure, international intrigue, and set piece action. As a former cinematographer on such films as `Die Hard' and `Lethal Weapon 3,' De Bont knows how to stage mayhem, and he does so expertly with sequences like Lara battling the baddies on the streets and the rooftops of Hong Kong. When `Tomb 2' is pointed in the right direction, it is miles ahead of its predecessor in terms of fun and pure kicks.

However, there is still work to be done on this series of films, and `Tomb 2' doesn't reach far enough to sincerely satisfy. There is a drought of joy to the Croft saga, and no matter how hard the production tries to jazz it up with special effects and Croft parading around in a bikini, there is precious little pleasure found anywhere in the franchise. The series is too rooted in its video game past, trying desperately to mimic the action found on the console. `Tomb 2' is more successful in attempting to find a pulse beneath the video game exterior, but it doesn't break through like it could. The picture is squashed under the weight of its own lethargic nature with a promise that maybe a third film could finally take the Croft series where it needs to go: away from the video game world to more of a real world adventure setting. Once De Bont breaks out the supernatural GC monsters in the film's final act, you can see the desire for creativity drain away from the picture.

Angelina Jolie is growing up nicely in the role of Croft, trading in her sexiness here for more emotionally charged scenes and considerably less bratty behavior. Jolie's strengths aren't found in the action film world, but there's nobody else who could fill the Croft shoes and shimmering sexuality quite as well as she does. The critical error that `Tomb 2' makes is teaming Croft with Terry Sheridan. Besides the fact that the individualistic Croft character doesn't quite beg for a dinner partner, De Bont has chosen the icy actor Gerard Butler to play the role. Jolie and Butler share little-to-no chemistry, and their banter is seriously lacking sexual tension and teamwork. Butler is an actor of an extremely acquired taste, and he strangles the little excitement found in `Tomb 2' with his inert presence.

This is a step in the right direction for the `Tomb Raider' franchise. Unlike most sequels this summer, `Tomb 2' is learning from its earlier mistakes and making an honest attempt to correct them. It may not work out for the best, but I congratulate the effort taken. ------- 5/10