Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life (2003)

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life has terrible name. The movie isn't much better. These movies doesn't have to be smart to be enjoyable but too much stupidity will hurt the movie. They tell in first fifteen minutes or something the cradle of life is in Africa. Later in movie it is surprise to characters it is in Africa. To same characters who knew earlier it is in Africa.

Whole movie is characters stupidity moving the story forward. Lara rather takes photos of orb in secret laboratory where she caused fire alarm than take the orb and escape. She end up doing that but only after bad guys catch her and she leaves them hint how to find her friends. Bad guy isn't any smarter. His plan is to open Pandora's box and let diseases to kill millions. Then he wants to save best and brightest. Politicians and corporate leaders. Corporate leaders at least have to have some merit but as we have seen lately being politician is no indication of being best or brightest. I wonder who would do all the work when only survivors are those whose skills are negotiation, delegation and looking reliable. That could be good premise for dystopian science fiction movie.

Movie had many good action scenes. I wondered why I didn't remember them being in the movie. When I saw the sets I remembered how good the scenes where. Then I saw the ending which made me want to forget the movie. Cradle of life set was terrible. It was hard to follow what is happening when characters could walk on walls and everywhere. There was too much bad cgi everywhere. First movie didn't have problems with special effect. This does but it wasn't the worst thing.

I am going to spoil the ending to tell why it is so bad. Worst thing was they tried to have dramatic ending with Lara and King Leonidas. They had something going on but during the movie Lara only used him to find cradle of life. She was going to kill him earlier because he wasn't fast enough. She told him she could kill him when she left him. In the end we are supposed to wonder if she can kill him to save millions. She was prepared to kill him for much less earlier. There wasn't a scene where they got back together. There was one which started like one but it was one where she left him telling she could kill him. We knew she would do it. She didn't want to do it but she didn't have choice.

If they wanted this ending Lara and King Leonidas should have got back together. Then it would have been what they tried to have. They should have also changed Pandora's box to something which give user power. Then bad guy could have had better motive. Trying to kill almost everyone is not a good motive unless you explain it like they did in Infinity War. Here the plan was to let disease to kill almost everyone and sell cure to little group of people. It is as bad plan as Umbrella Corporation's plans in latest Resident Evil movie. Maybe we should accept that plan because bad guy hated all life. Poison Ivy at least had some reason to kill all humans in Batman Forever.

You might have guessed I didn't like the movie. That is not completely correct. I liked those few good action scenes. It is the ending which was so frustrating I keep forgetting what was good.