After an earthquake in Greece treasure hunters are searching the sea bed to see what they can find. These include Lara Croft but she believes the others are looking in the long place. She is convinced that the Luna Temple where Alexander the Great hid his greatest treasures is nearby and sure enough she finds it. Once inside she discovers a mysterious orb but before she can remove it the villain Chen Lo turns up, kills her companions and takes the orb.
After being rescued she is approached by members of MI6 who want her to recover the orb. It turns out that it contains directions to the Cradle of Life where Pandora's Box of Greek mythology is believed to have been hidden. They state that Jonathan Reiss, a Nobel Prize winning scientist who has become a bio-terrorist is also after the box because it contains a virus for which there is no cure. Lara accepts the challenge but insists that that former colleague/lover Terry Sheridan is released from prison as he is the only person she knows who can get her close to Chen Lo. Their adventure will take them to Mainland China and Hong Kong before they finally discover the Cradle of Life in East Africa.
When I watched the first Lara Croft movie I didn't expect it to be that good but found myself rather enjoying it; enough to give this sequel a go. I'm glad I did as it is at least as much fun as the original. The story is of course a bit silly but that doesn't matter; it is fun and provides lots of exciting action. This includes plenty of fights and shootouts, CGI monsters and an impressive wing-suit jump from a Hong Kong skyscraper. Angelina Jolie does an impressive job as Lara Croft, making the highly unlikely seem believable she also looks great in costumes designed to show her off to her best! Ciarán Hinds also impresses as the villainous Jonathan Reiss, thankfully he plays the character straight rather than as a pantomime villain. Gerard Butler is solid enough as Sheridan but the character isn't as interesting as he could be. The special effects are pretty good even if it is fairly obvious that most of them are CGI. Overall I'd recommend this to anybody who enjoyed the first film or just wants a solid action film with a few fantasy elements.
After being rescued she is approached by members of MI6 who want her to recover the orb. It turns out that it contains directions to the Cradle of Life where Pandora's Box of Greek mythology is believed to have been hidden. They state that Jonathan Reiss, a Nobel Prize winning scientist who has become a bio-terrorist is also after the box because it contains a virus for which there is no cure. Lara accepts the challenge but insists that that former colleague/lover Terry Sheridan is released from prison as he is the only person she knows who can get her close to Chen Lo. Their adventure will take them to Mainland China and Hong Kong before they finally discover the Cradle of Life in East Africa.
When I watched the first Lara Croft movie I didn't expect it to be that good but found myself rather enjoying it; enough to give this sequel a go. I'm glad I did as it is at least as much fun as the original. The story is of course a bit silly but that doesn't matter; it is fun and provides lots of exciting action. This includes plenty of fights and shootouts, CGI monsters and an impressive wing-suit jump from a Hong Kong skyscraper. Angelina Jolie does an impressive job as Lara Croft, making the highly unlikely seem believable she also looks great in costumes designed to show her off to her best! Ciarán Hinds also impresses as the villainous Jonathan Reiss, thankfully he plays the character straight rather than as a pantomime villain. Gerard Butler is solid enough as Sheridan but the character isn't as interesting as he could be. The special effects are pretty good even if it is fairly obvious that most of them are CGI. Overall I'd recommend this to anybody who enjoyed the first film or just wants a solid action film with a few fantasy elements.