The lips are unreal! (Lara Croft Tomb Raider Special Edition (DVD))

Member Name: macutmore

Product:	Lara Croft Tomb Raider Special Edition (DVD)
Date:	07/07/01 (49 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Girl power!, Action packed, Special effects

Disadvantages: Little or no humour, Did Indiana Jones inspire all this?, Synthetic

Boy was I looking forward to this one? Well by the time it came that is! Months of trailers, then the very naughty move of previews to any Tom, Dick or Harry weeks BEFORE the actual official premiere of the film (should this really be allowed? I think not)! All of this had made me expect one hell of a movie.

It all adds up to one Mega hyped film. The poster looks inviting enough. Angelina Jolie (never heard of her before) as Laura Croft (now not everyone could even look like that- could they?)

I must confess that although I love Laura (in concept); I remember, way back, when I had a try at the computer game (that this whole feature is supposedly inspired by). What is this? I thought; - nothing like the drawings and pictures of lovely Laura- just a matchstick animation with her back to you all the time. She even has a mind of her own (so much for the joystick)!

Anyway- here is the movie! It sure took them time to even think of such a simple spin off from the most successful interactive video game of all time; A film that is!

The Movie doesn't waste time and gets straight into the tense action of her watching her wits (did I say wits?) My first thought was that her lips looked extremely 'pumped up' with collagen in true synthetic style. Oh and what about all that boob padding (too obvious for my liking). Nice teeth though- who knows what the dentist bill for this one was!

Serious stuff it is though as the film develops- I laughed only once throughout the entire movie. (You really must get a sense of humour Laura). Extremely tight and dynamic editing means that even a blink will leave you wondering how she managed her last moves.

It's powerful enough. A little bit of blood, sweat, and (some,- few) tears make for one gripping and tense action packed feature. She's certainly fearless, depicting the almost millennium 'girl power' style and fashion of this era of today. I prefer the 'Char
lies Angels' power to this though (at least they appreiciate their men)!

Special effects are a mix of everything really that’s been seen 'Indiana Jones' style. A fantasy good vs. evil script, but the (supposedly) beautiful and brainy Laura really is sassy and stuck up (almost inhuman)- like her interactive counterpart! It's all very unnatural and hardly inspiring.

In some ways the movie compares paradoxically to some elements contained (in concept) to the film 'Crouching tiger, hidden dragon', but there is much less philosophical content in Tomb Raider. I think I preferred that Chinese flick to this though. Tomb Raider acts like it's essentially British in the way it is pronounced by presentation. The actors have the 'stiff upper lip' in conversation. I bet the USA saw this kiddie many months before we knew it even existed though! How unfair is that?

The classification board, yet again gets the scissors out in true British fashion, butchering another attempted masterpiece. Why don't we just adopt the American classification system anyway! The kid sitting in the same row as me certainly didn't even act like a twelve year old, let alone look like one!

Roll on Tomb Raider 2, 3, 4 and… well, maybe not.

I think the good and successful films of today hit us from the outset, without the need for the scam of hype. This movie should have been rushed onto screens without so much as a word. It could do just as well.

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