Paramount kicked off the "Tomb Raider" franchise with a blockbuster bang with the 2001 original, whose massive box office take alone ensured a sequel would soon follow. Given the brief gap between its release, and that of 2003's "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider — The Cradle of Life," one has to wonder whether or not the studio didn't rush the sequel a bit.
If you've seen "The Cradle of Life," it's hard to argue the point. The film was, of course, ushered through production with a new director calling the shots, with producers trading Simon West for "Speed" helmer Jan de Bont. And it likely says a lot about the "Tomb Raider" sequel that de Bont has not directed a feature film since. For her part, Angelina Jolie brings the same superstar magnetism and unabashed sex appeal to the proceedings as she did to the first film, with new co-stars Gerard Butler and Ciarán Hinds adding their own sort of weight to the proceedings.
As with its predecessor, however, the film is astonishingly short on story or character, and de Bont does little to encourage his actors to do anything but look cool and hit their marks during the film's many set pieces — most of which the director shows little interest in reigning in for the sake of story or believability. While "Cradle of Life" scored a few points higher from Rotten Tomatoes critics, it remains hard to legitimately argue it's the better movie.
