The Right Sort Of Cheese?

Cheese. By definition, it’s a food that’s made from pressed curds of milk left to ripen and age. Figurative Cheese however? Well, this a formality that binds together overly hackneyed and quintessential conventions that create moments of either hilarity or grief. Indeed, Cheesy feature-films in general stand apart from ‘normal’ theatrical releases. They revel in their ridiculous and overblown narratives, corny one-liners and absurd stunt sequences that imbue conflicting emotions of amusement and disappointment. These types of films are not always ‘bad’ features per se, but our collective and cultural understanding of this specific breed of films makes us recognise these arguably guilty pleasure movies in a distinguishable and obvious light. One film in particular that complies with these aforementioned tendencies is Simon West’s Lara Croft: Tomb Raider; one of the more recognisable and arguably acclaimed video-game live-action filmic adaptations which enthusiastically elevates the goofy nature of its senseless plot and over-the-top action sequences to a peculiar and oddly wondrous art-form…

Based on the popular video-game series, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider centres its adventure around…Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie), an antiquities hunter-for-hire who enjoys collecting ancient artefacts from ancient ruins and is skilled in hand-to-hand combat and gun-wielding. Reminiscent of the events that transpire in the vast array of Indiana Jones films, Croft’s expeditions are always chock full of action, danger, intrigue and suspense and her latest discovery proves to be the same. Upon discovering a strange device within a clock, Croft finds herself in a sticky and fateful predicament where she has to fend off the Illuminati seeking two pieces of a mysterious artefact, known as the Triangle of Light, that are separately hidden in two places of the world. Racing against the principles of time and villains who are seeking an artefact that grants its wielder power over time and space, can Croft hurry to save the day, and the world?!…

Now, if you’re dumbfounded by what was mentioned within the short narrative summary, don’t be alarmed as this 2001 action-adventure film doesn’t contextually make any sense whatsoever. As much as the plot seen in this film is somewhat excusable, considering that West’s film is outlandishly matching everything that’s depicted in the original video-game source material which also upholded eccentric story-telling, it’s the manner in which certain events and underwhelming scenes unfold that makes you question the continuity and vision of what said director wanted to go with the story. From the opening scene of Tomb Raider, in which we see Croft honing her acrobatic and fighting skills against a robot (referencing the ‘practise mode’ of the original games), to the subtler moments of discussion between characters that are nonsensical and meaningless, there’s no going around the notion that no audience member can ever-truly get invested in a story that presents sequences that feels like you’re watching a timely drum-and-bass music video. Yet, for all the obvious pitfalls that is simply there to be perceived, if there’s one silver-lining to at least commend and take notice of, it’s the intrinsically frivolous manner in which these absurd moments are executed. Unlike another hilariously bad feature film in the form of Joel Schumacher’s Batman & Robin which more or less disdained its predecessors by shrewdly marketing merchandise for said superhero character and threw away any appreciative feelings for the preceding films for infuriating lunacy and film-making, there’s a charm to be found within Tomb Raider that can influence begrudging naysayers. It’s never a film that wholly takes itself too seriously with the narrative that it upholds and clearly knows it’s appealing to those who are infatuated by the ‘over-blown’ side of cinema. This is most evident when West’s film focuses its attention on the action and how equally thrilling it’s to watch compared to The Wachowski’s The Matrix. Embodying everything there’s to love about video games and the eccentric characters that reside in them, the action-sequences depicted in this 2001 action-flick is fun to embrace. From Croft bungee/wall-running inside her own mansion fending off the villain’s henchmen, to the specific moment where the aforesaid heroine stumbles upon a sled of dogs and makes a noise that’s familiar from the video-games, there’s pleasure to be found within these moments and is filmed/edited better than most admired features. 

As amusing and enjoyable these sequences can be perceived however, if there’s one negligence to take notice of, it’s the rather skittish and awkward arrangement of these scenes and how they all start arbitrarily commence with no consistency. Yes, it’s hard to justify a zany narrative that this action-feature upholds. Yet, if it retained any amount of continuity and flow in relation to how scenes start and end, then maybe it would have been feasible to acknowledge where Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is coherently coming from. 

The most notable shining grace that’s to be found in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is the central heroine herself, enacted perfectly by Angelina Jolie. Having recently watched the film in its entirety, it’s hard to imagine anyone else taking the responsibility in playing the role as it requires the physical nous and enthusiasm to convince the audience (which is saying something considering Alicia Vikander is set to play the role in the upcoming reboot). While it’s important that Jolie had to acquire the look of the character, it was always equally as imperative to get the personality of the character right since she’s an individual within the video-games that’s remained positive; despite of what situation she’s faced with. Adapted into film, Jolie seemingly provides a charisma that impeccably fits like a final jig-saw piece to an overly long tilling puzzle. She’s always positive and excited in whatever comes her way and never appears annoyed when circumstances aren’t in her favour. However, if there’s critique to give of Jolie’s performance, it is her attempt to produce an English accent. For the most part, it’s convincing to hear, but there are snippets when it subtly loses its touch; particularly near the start of the film when Croft talks to Noah Taylor’s character (although, this could be down to ADR as well). Much of the same can be said in regards to Daniel Craig’s performance as Alex West, who also sports a laughably bad accent that is surprising to fathom in a recent viewing. Considering many know Craig to be the epitome of how James Bond should be played, it makes his appearance in this film seem that much more entertaining and comical. For whatever reason, everyone except Craig’s character is English/British and the instant in which we see/hear Alex West talking to Croft in an auction scene…it’s rather bad to put it simply! 😂 Of course, with an action film such as this that inherently displays over-the-top action sequences and a narrative that is overblown and makes no sense to comprehend, you’re going to have the cliché villain and this role is brazenly filled by Iain Glen, you know? The guy from Game of Thrones who’s obsessed Khaleesi. Glen plays Manfred Powell here and all that can really be said of this performance is how commonplace this antagonist is in accordance with a lot of similar villains in equally extravagant features. From ordering people around to fulfil his desires, such as telling Mr. Pimms to send for Croft for a meeting over an artefact, to always dressing in dark clothing, there’s no going around the notion that the character of Powell is basically your average throw-away and poorly written bad-guy. With a plot that’s over-elaborate, how can one attach or remotely relate to a villain’s ideals that ate vague and never explored? 

A fast-paced adventure in the vein of Indiana Jones and The Mummy, Simon West’s cinematic take on the ‘Tomb Raider’ series of games is an action-feature that speaks for itself in a grandiose fashion. While many game enthusiasts to this day are torn by said films obviously poor synopsis that imbues moments of dense story-telling that aren’t meaningful in any way and leave you arguably uninterested, but there are subtle moments and action sequences that did make me grin with comical delight at the absurdity of it all. It’s understandable that many audience members, who may try to re-watch this film, will cynically shrug at the nonsensical narrative and poor performances of the majority of the cast. It’s not comparable to any of the past Indiana Jones films (except The Crystal Skull). Yet, even with all these obvious inconsistencies, there’s a reluctant charm to take note of and that’s primarily down to the rather sexy-swagger that Angelina Jolie provides in her enactment as Lara Croft. How difficult indeed then, it will be for Alicia Vikander to fill those shoes in the rather interesting reboot that’s shortly set to be released in cinemas…

On that note, it’s time for me to end this Film Review. As always everyone, thank you for reading my latest Film Review of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and I hope you’ve all enjoyed the read! 😉 If you have an opinion on either the film or on my review itself, you’re more than welcome to share your opinion down in the comments section below. For later this week, I’ll be providing you all with a film review of Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther. Thank you once again for reading this Blog Post and I hope you’re all having a good start to your week! Adieu! 😏🏃🔫💎⏳

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ – Alex Rabbitte