LARA CROFT: PLOT RAIDER
Action flick cribs from its predecessors
Big shocker: The new Tomb Raider movie is pulling in poor reviews (see what Chris Knight had to say above), leading us to think maybe a remake wasn’t necessary.
But has that ever stopped the franchise before?
No way! All of the films have been trashed, but their makers refuse to take the hint. Because, well, money.
LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER — THE CRADLE OF LIFE (2003)
Critics said: “Silly, cheesy and tacky.” (Ebert & Roper) “After a while, you stop speculating how Croft will wriggle out of each fine mess and start checking your watch.” (Newsday) “It’s refreshing to see a female action hero who can hold her own, quip for quip and punch for punch, against Indiana Jones and every other cinematic raider of lost things.” (OK, so Knight of the National Post did like this one.) So-so-silver lining: Life didn’t go so well for Croft this time; the film pulled in a worldwide total of $157 million off a budget of $95 million. (All U.S. figures.)
LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER (2001)
Critics said: “Loud, banal, empty, frenzied, plasticized, flavourless, drab, violent in a bloodless way and sexy in a sexless way.” (The Washington Post)
“There is more tension in Jolie’s T-shirts than in the dramatic action.” (Hollywood Reporter) “Like its klunky predecessors, Tomb Raider always feels as if scenes are missing or that it was edited by Edward Scissorhands.” (Calgary Sun) Silver lining: Croft brought in a worldwide total of $275 million off a budget of $115 million.