The Critics Say...
Just look at what the critics said about the movie :-(
CNN Review
A dull game of 'Tomb Raider'.
The movie opens with a bang. The opening sequence is a flashy, exciting battle with a spider-like robot. But then director Simon West shifts the rhythm into low while you wait for another action sequence.
And wait. And wait.
The story revolves around the search for two halves of an ancient artifact that's been buried in different parts of the world. We're supposed to be horrified that whoever nabs them first will be able to control time. Though the bad guy (an empty shell played by Iain Craig) is certainly up to no good, the details of his gang's evil plans are kept on the back burner
It's more like a travel agency brochure has been flashed on the screen.
E! Online Review
We're still searching for the thrills. The action sequences feel so few and far between. When they do arrive, Jolie is such an indestructible quick shot, it saps the suspense right out of it.
We think you're better off playing the videogame--at least there the characters don't speak.
Our rating is C-
Desert News
Tomb Raider may not be as bad as those films. But it would be a huge lie to say it was all that much better.
It wouldn't be out of place to call this film boring, since it lacks the energy and wit it deserves.
Here, Simon West can't even get a lively performance out of live-wire Jolie, who's so sedate she seems to be sleepwalking through her part.Rating: 2 stars
Chicago Tribune
An expensive and overblown fantasy-adventure film based on the world's most popular video-game character, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is a staggeringly bad picture: a shallow, cliche-ridden mess that keeps blowing up on screen. Tomb Raider should be an embarrassment to everybody, despite the likelihood that it may strike box-office gold anyway -- and despite the fact that star Angelina Jolie amazingly brings life to her video-game star role.
She wages war against stereotypical bad guy Manfred Powell (Iain Glen) for a complex time-travel device that becomes operative every 5,000 years or so, when the planets are aligned. Aiding her is handsome archaeologist Alex West (Daniel Craig), cyber-happy computer-geek sidekick Bryce (Noah Taylor) and her beloved, long-dead adoptive father, Lord Croft (played by Jolie's real-life father, Jon Voight), who sends her notes and hints from beyond the grave.
Except for its star, Tomb Raider is an empty, cold-blooded sham. The stunningly feeble script, pawed over by many writers (some credited, some not), has a whiff of desperation, especially in the opening London scenes. It's barren of invention, and the dialogue is barren of humor.
There is not a single scene that stands a moment's scrutiny. And there's no spark of rapport among any of the characters or actors, except, fleetingly, between Jolie and Voight, a father and daughter trapped together in actors' hell.
And even if she's able to save the world in Tomb Raider, she can't save this movie. Rating: 1 star
'Fails to deliver' Grade: C
Flim.com
"Great soundtrack, great toys, GREAT abs. Shame about the script."
James Berardinelli
"...a great way to cure the summer blahs..." 3/4 stars
Los Angeles Times
"...lacks the thrills one might expect."
Mr. Showbiz
"...soulless..." Rating: 2/5
New York Times
"...about as much fun as watching someone else play a video game."
Roger Ebert
"...elevates goofiness to an art form." Rating: 3/5
TV Guide
"...all kinetic thrills and no suspense." Rating: 2.5 /5
USA Today
"...Jolie clearly is having a blast." Rating: 2/4
Washington Post
"...well-done and watchable..."
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