Film Review: Lara Croft - Tomb Raider

FANTASY, MYTHS, computer graphics, special effects and a pouting, invincible heroine make Paramount Pictures and Mutual Film Company's ``Lara Croft-Tomb Raider'' great fun to watch.

Strong, beautiful and wealthy, Lara the character was first a virtual celebrity and is the subject of many Internet fan sites.

The challenge for the director (Simon West) and the story writers (Sara B Cooper, Mike Werb, Michael Colleary), was to recreate a film experience without losing sight of the phenomenally popular and complex game that inspired it (Eldos Interactive game series developed by Core Design) with added computer wizardry and splendid camera work (Peter Menzies).

So you have Angelina Jolie playing the role of the stupendous Lara, a 21st century superwoman - she's a linguist, master photographer, highly trained in combat methods and an expert in rare, lost crypts and forgotten empires. Born into great wealth and groomed at the most elite educational institutions Lara visits archeological sites to raid tombs, wiping out the bad guys and getting into one adventure after the other. Combine this with a bit of the mysterious and the supernatural, and she becomes a truly fantasy figure and icon to youngsters.

In this venture, Lara is challenged to find two halves of an ancient artefact buried in time and space. For the possessor it means unlimited power. But of course there is always a race for such objects and should it fall into the hands of undesirables it means disaster. So she must take on this powerful, silent secret society, which is also after the same thing. And the fate of mankind is in her hands. Her mission takes her to the exotic ancient tomb of the Dancing Light in Cambodia and then to the icy Siberian temple of Ten Thousand Shadows.

While much of the filming was done in the sets created at Pinewood Studios the spectacular scenes in Cambodia and Iceland (which stood for Siberia) are quite a treat. The glacier and icy lagoons full of floating icebergs ranging from blue to bright turquoise, look like the work of an art department. Much of the credit goes to art director Kirk Petruccelli and his team and the special effects supervisor Chris Corbould and Steve Begg.

Also in the cast are Jon Voight, Iain Glen, Noah Taylor, and Daniel Craig. Special mention must be made of the music (Grameme Revell) which ranges from the oriental to the deep western. The orchestration is full of intensity and excitement. Many superstars from the world of music have contributed to the film.

CHITRA MAHESH

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