Last weekend was quite a relaxed one for us 😊 The weather was a bit sad so we watched two movies, In Time on Saturday and Tomb Raider on Sunday.
It was such a long time ago that I watched it.
If you enjoy action, adventure, ancient mysteries and a fearless hero who seems to be able to survive almost anything, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider might be a fun movie to watch! 🍿 Released in 2001, the film stars Angelina Jolie as the famous video-game heroine Lara Croft.
Directed by Simon West, the movie brought the popular Tomb Raider video-game character to the big screen in a huge, action-packed adventure. 💥
The movie follows Lara Croft, a wealthy British archaeologist and adventurer who travels around the world searching for ancient treasures and mysterious artefacts. 🏺 She is intelligent, athletic and extremely skilled with weapons and martial arts. In other words, Lara is definitely not the kind of person you would want to challenge to a fight!
The main story begins when Lara discovers a mysterious object connected to her late father, Lord Richard Croft. The object is linked to the legendary Triangle of Light, an ancient artefact said to have the incredible power to control space and time. ⏳ Lara must find the two pieces of the Triangle before a secret organisation called the Illuminati can get hold of them.
Her journey takes her across the world, including Cambodia 🇰🇭 and the icy landscapes of Siberia ❄️. Along the way, she faces dangerous traps, enemies, ancient ruins and plenty of explosions! 💣 The story also has a more personal side because Lara is trying to uncover secrets surrounding her father’s past. 👨👧
Angelina Jolie plays Lara Croft and is easily the biggest reason to watch the movie. She brings confidence, attitude and physical energy to the character. Jolie’s performance was one of the aspects of the movie that received praise, even though the film itself received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics.
The cast also includes:
• 🎭 Jon Voight as Lord Richard Croft, Lara’s father
• 🦹 Iain Glen as the villainous Manfred Powell
• 💻 Noah Taylor as Bryce, Lara’s technical expert
• 🗺️ Daniel Craig as Alex West, a rival adventurer
One particularly interesting detail is that Jon Voight is Angelina Jolie’s real-life father! 👨👧 That makes their relationship in the movie even more interesting. Daniel Craig is also a fun name to spot because he would later become internationally famous for playing James Bond. 🕵️♂️
There are plenty of interesting facts behind the movie!
🌴 1. It was filmed in Cambodia.
Parts of the movie were filmed around the famous Angkor temples in Cambodia. The production was a major Hollywood project and helped showcase the country’s incredible scenery to audiences around the world. 🌏
❄️ 2. The movie was filmed in several countries.
The production used locations in Cambodia, Iceland and England, as well as studio sets. Pinewood Studios in England was used for much of the studio filming. 🎥
💪🏼 3. Angelina Jolie trained for the role.
Jolie underwent extensive physical training before filming so she could perform many of Lara’s demanding action scenes. She trained for around two and a half months and followed a high-protein diet to help prepare for the role. 🥊
🐍 4. There were real animals around the set!
Some jungle scenes were particularly challenging because of the wildlife. According to production trivia, snakes reportedly ended up falling into Lara’s open-top Land Rover during filming! 😱🐍 Jolie was reportedly scared of snakes, which makes this fact even funnier considering how fearless Lara Croft is supposed to be!
🎮 5. Lara Croft came from video games.
The character was originally created for the Tomb Raider video-game series. The movie helped introduce Lara to an even wider audience and made Angelina Jolie strongly associated with the character.
Overall, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is a very early-2000s action movie, and it definitely feels like one! Althogh I think the graphics are amaing! 👏🏼
The plot is a little complicated. The movie also received mostly negative reviews from professional critics. However, Angelina Jolie’s performance as Lara Croft was one of its strongest points. ⭐
If you don’t take the movie too seriously, there is a lot to enjoy. The exotic locations 🌴, huge action sequences 💥, mysterious ancient artefacts 🏺 and Angelina Jolie’s confident performance make it an entertaining adventure.
For me, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is best viewed as a fun action-adventure movie rather than a film with a deeply complicated story.
So, if you’re looking for adventure, explosions, ancient mysteries and a seriously tough heroine, grab some popcorn 🍿 and give Tomb Raider a watch! ⭐🎬
Thanks for reading 🩷
