Review of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

Introduction

Oh dear. A film based upon a computer game. The prosecution calls to the stand Super Mario Bros, Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. No further evidence on why you shouldn`t do it is required.

But maybe this one could break the mould? Maybe a film based on a game that was rather Indiana Jones could emulate that excellent series on the big screen? Maybe it could all add up to "...the most stylish and entertaining action-adventure movie in years!"

Video

We get a 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer, with plenty of detail, but surprisingly not as good as you might expect. There`s a bit of grain floating around at times, and there are definitely a few ropey special effects on show which gave the film the look of being made about 10 years ago.

It`s all a pretty much by-the-numbers affair, with ancient defence mechanisms in the tombs, and hi-tech gadgets being used in the battle against them.

Audio

A booming and banging DD5.1 soundtrack, but again not as good as you would expect. The dialogue isn`t as good as it should be (and that`s just the audio reproduction, don`t get me started on the script), it often gets drowned out, and even the trendy soundtrack doesn`t reproduce as well as we all know it can on DVD. Maybe Paramount knew they weren`t going to win people over with this DVD so didn`t make too much effort?

Features

At least they made the effort of adding some extras, although they are of very little value if you didn`t enjoy the film. The usual PR fluff that passes for a featurette is trotted out a few times, as well as deleted scenes (more of the scenes in the film should have been deleted!), a music video and a commentary track.

Having suffered the film once I couldn`t stomach it again, so had to miss out on the commentary which is a bit of a first.

Conclusion

Surely all of those millions who made this a box office hit can`t be wrong? Afraid they can - this is by far one of the worst films I have watched. Ever. How someone could call it "...the most stylish and entertaining action-adventure movie in years!" is beyond me. It`s just utter dross.

In my review of The Mummy I mentioned that it was probably the closest we`ll get to Indiana Jones on DVD for a while. For about 30 seconds I thought that Tomb Raider might take that title, but not a chance! If you`ve managed to avoid this film so far then congratulations. If you`re curious about it, then I implore you to avoid it at all costs. If you just want to watch Angelina Jolie then rent The Bone Collector instead.

A below par disc of a massively below par film. Avoid the DVD and stay out of cinemas in summer 2003, as a sequel is on the cards.