neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
	Simon West Angelina Jolie, Jon Voight, Noah Taylor 2001 special edition — widescreen; closed caption; audio commentary by director Simon West; four deleted scenes; alternate main title sequence; U2 music video "Elevation"; documentaries "Digging Into Tomb Raider," "Crafting Lara Croft," "Visual Effects of Tomb Raider" and "Are You Game?," a look at the "Tomb Raider" video game phenomenon		Neither raging, high-res special effects nor the limber athleticism and delectable-sexpot pouting of Angelina Jolie, as British aristocrat/indestructible adventuress Lara Croft, can counter the overwhelming cheesiness of what is essentially — and is just as deep as — a live-action video game. No shock there. Since the attractive Jolie is the lead, it should've been better than previous computer-screen-to-big-screen ventures such as "Super Mario Brothers." The plot is simply a place to hang eye-grabbing contrivances, as one frantic set piece follows another. It concerns an ancient magical clock, bequeathed to Lady Croft by her father, played in flashback by Jolie's real dad, Jon Voight. The clock is a key to a device that can transcend time; the evil Illuminati are after it, and Lara must stop them. You can't fault the flick's blistering forward motion, but a script full of foreboding, humorless jabber — and a failed try for emotional resonance with the Lara-Dad subplot — entomb it.