Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
File:Lara Croft film.jpg Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Simon West
Screenplay by	Patrick Massett John Zinman
Story by	Sara B. Cooper Mike Werb Michael Colleary Simon West
Produced by	Lawrence Gordon Lloyd Levin Colin Wilson
Starring	Angelina Jolie Jon Voight Chris Barrie Iain Glen Noah Taylor Daniel Craig
Cinematography	Peter Menzies Jr.
Edited by	Dallas Puett Glen Scantlebury Eric Strand Mark Warner Stuart Baird
Music by	Graeme Revell
Production company	Mutual Film Company
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release dates	June 11, 2001 (2001-06-11TPremiere) June 15, 2001 (2001-06-15TUS) July 6, 2001 (2001-07-06TUK)
Running time	100 minutes
Countries	United States United Kingdom Japan Germany
Language	English
Budget	$115 million
Box office	$274,703,340

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is a 2002 action and fantasy film adapted from the Tomb Raider video game series. It was directed by Simon West and starred Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft, with Jon Voight, Chris Barrie, Iain Glen, Noah Taylor, and Daniel Craig in supporting roles. It was released in U.S. theaters on June 14, 2002. The film was a commercial success. The film held the title of highest grossing video game to film adaptation worldwide, until on June 16, 2010, the record was taken by Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, which grossed $335 million worldwide as of October 10, 2010 (although it is still #1 with adjustments for inflation). Reviews were largely negative, with critics criticizing the sloppy direction and video-game-esque action-sequences, but praising Jolie's performance.

A sequel, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, was released in 2003.

Plot

Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie) is in an Egyptian tomb, seeking a diamond. As she approaches it she is attacked by a large robot. She disables it by ripping out its motivational circuits. She takes the diamond, which is revealed to be a memory card labeled "Lara's Party Mix", and inserts it into a laptop computer inside the robot, whereupon it plays music. Now it is revealed that the scene took place in a practice arena in her home, and that her assistant Bryce (Noah Taylor) programmed the robot, SIMON, to challenge her in combat.

It is the day of the first phase of a planetary alignment, culminating in a solar eclipse. In Venice, the Illuminati search for a key to rejoin halves of "the triangle", which must be done by the final phase of the alignment. Manfred Powell (Iain Glen), an Illuminati member, makes assurances that they are almost ready, but in reality he has no idea where to find the key. Lara's butler, James "Hilly" Hillary (Chris Barrie), tries to interest her in several projects but she ignores them. May 15, as Hilly is aware, is the day that Lara's father disappeared many years earlier. She never recovered from his loss.

Later that night, Lara has a dream reminding her what her father said about the alignment and an object linked to it called the Triangle of Light. Waking, she is aware of a clock ticking. Searching for it, she discovers a secret chamber under the staircase with a carriage clock that had spontaneously begun ticking. Bryce probes it and discovers a strange device hidden inside the clock.

Since the device resembles a clock, Lara consults a clock expert friend of her father's, Mr. Wilson (Leslie Phillips). She believes it is connected to the "Triangle of Light", but Wilson disavows knowledge of the clock or the Triangle. Lara encounters Alex West (Daniel Craig), an American archeologist and friend with unscrupulous methods. They are attracted to each other, but Lara cannot abide his for-profit attitude. That night, Lara is contacted by Wilson, who tells her that he gave her name to Powell in regards of the clock.

Ta Keo at Angkor.

The next morning, Lara receives a letter from her father, arranged to arrive after the beginning of the alignment. In her library, she finds a secret letter in a book where he explains that the clock is the key to retrieve two halves of the mystic Triangle of Light, which is revealed to be an object of phenomenal destructive power that granted its wielder power over time and space. He says that it was made from a metal found in a meteor crater made by a meteor that had fallen to earth during a previous alignment. Initially housed in a city built in the meteor crater by those who worshiped the object, misuse of the Triangle's power destroyed the city and so it was split into two halves; one was hidden in a tomb in Cambodia, the other half in the ruined city itself, in modern-day Siberia. Her father urges her to find and destroy both halves before the Illuminati can find it.

In Cambodia, West figures out part of the puzzle on how to retrieve the triangle half, but Lara manages to successfully grab the piece. Before everyone can leave, the liquid metal which came out with the piece brings the statues in the temple to life and attacks the team, killing some members. Lara is left to fight off and destroy a huge six-armed guardian statue similar to Brahma, the Hindu god of creation. She successfully defeats it by weakening it and leaves the temple by diving through a waterfall. She then travels to a Buddhist town where a young monk welcomes her. After a worship service, an aged monk who is the leader there gives Lara some tea and as they converse, he tells her that he knew her father before.

She and Powell arrange to meet in Venice, since each of them has what the other needs to finish the Triangle. Powell proposes a partnership to find the Triangle, and informs Lara that her father was a member of the Illuminati, which she vehemently denies. Though hesitant at first, she, along with Bryce, meets with Powell for the trip to Siberia. Inside the chamber, there is a giant model of the solar system, which activates as the alignment nears completion. Lara retrieves the last half of the Triangle, but when Powell tries to complete it, the halves will not fuse. He realizes that Lara knows the solution to the puzzle, and kills West in order to persuade her to complete the Triangle to save both West's life and her father's. Lara reluctantly complies, and they then struggle for control of the Triangle, with Lara gaining the upper hand.

Lara then finds herself in a strange alternate existence facing her father Richard Croft (Jon Voight). He explains that it is a crossing of time and space, and urges her to destroy the Triangle instead of using it to save his life. She leaves her father and returns to the chamber, where time is slowly running backwards from the point where Powell killed West. Croft takes the knife he threw into West's chest and reverses it, then destroys the Triangle, which returns time to its normal flow and directs the knife into Powell's shoulder. The chamber begins to self-destruct, Everyone turns to leave, but Powell tells Croft that he killed her father and retrieved his pocket watch with a picture of Lara's mother inside. Lara and Powell engage in a hand to hand fight with Lara emerging victorious. After Powell is killed, she retrieves the watch and escapes as the chamber crumbles.

At the mansion, Hilly and Bryce are shocked to see Lara wearing a dress. She goes into the garden to her father's memorial, then returns inside, where Bryce has a reprogrammed SIMON, ready to challenge Lara once again. Hilly reveals a silver tray holding Lara's pistols, which she takes with a smile.

Cast

• Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft
• Daniel Craig as Alex West
• Iain Glen as Manfred Powell
• Jon Voight as Lord Richard Croft, Lara's father.
• Noah Taylor as Bryce
• Chris Barrie as James "Hilly" Hillary
• Julian Rhind-Tutt as Mr. Pimms
• Leslie Phillips as Wilson
• Henry Wyndham as Boothby's Auctioneer
• Olegar Fedoro as Russian Commander
• Richard Johnson as Distinguished Gentlemen

Production

Development

Tomb Raider went through many drafts and several writers, which resulted in production delays. In 1998, writer Brent V. Friedman, who had co-written Mortal Kombat: Annihilation the year before, penned an unproduced Tomb Raider script. Producer and screenwriter Steven E. de Souza, who wrote and directed the 1994 video game film Street Fighter, penned an early draft of the Tomb Raider script in 1999, but it was rejected by Paramount. The final draft of the script was attributed to five writers, including director Simon West.

Financing

Lara Croft was financed through Tele-München Gruppe (TMG), a German tax shelter. The tax law of Germany allowed investors to take an instant tax deduction even on non-German productions and even if the film has not gone into production. By selling them the copyright for $94 million and then buying it back for $83.8 million, Paramount Pictures made $10.2 million. The copyright was then sold again to Lombard Bank, a British investment group and a further $12 million was made. However, to qualify for Section 48 tax relief, the production must include some UK filming and British actors, which was acceptable for a film partially set in the United Kingdom. Presales to distributors in Japan, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain made a further $65 million. Showtime paid $6.8 million for premium cable TV rights. In total, $94 million was put together.

The deal between Eidos, Tomb Raider's publisher, and Paramount Pictures was structured so Eidos received a single fee, but no royalties.

Casting

Demi Moore was widely reported to have been in consideration for the role of Lara Croft. Porn star Linsey Dawn McKenzie was also considered.

The film marked the feature film debut of television actor Christopher Barrie, known for his role of "Arnold Rimmer" in the BBC science fiction comedy series Red Dwarf. Iain Glen, a Scot, adopted an English accent as Powell, whilst English actor Daniel Craig adopts an American accent for the role of Alex West. Jolie, being American herself, takes on an English accent. Jon Voight, Angelina Jolie's father plays Richard Croft, Lara's father in the film.

Release

Reception

The film received generally negative reviews, earning a 19% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with 29 out of 154 critics giving it a positive review with an average rating of 3.9/10. The general consensus is "Angelina Jolie is perfect for the role of Lara Croft, but even she can't save the movie from a senseless plot and action sequences with no emotional impact". IGN gave the movie the lowest score, a 0.0 ("Disaster") rating, condemning everything from character performances to the ending. A positive review came from Roger Ebert, who awarded the film three out of four stars and said, "'Lara Croft Tomb Raider' elevates goofiness to an art form. Here is a movie so monumentally silly, yet so wondrous to look at, that only a churl could find fault."

Box office performance

Tomb Raider was a box office success. The movie debuted at number one with $48.2 million, giving Paramount its second-best debut and the fifth-highest debut of 2002. It beat the opening record for a film featuring a female protagonist ($40.1 million for Charlie's Angels) as well as the opening record for a video game adaptation ($31 million for Pokémon: The First Movie), and is the third most successful video game adaptation to date, grossing $274,703,340 worldwide, behind only Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Resident Evil: Afterlife, although it is still #1 based on the number of the tickets sales, attendance and adjustment based on today's ticket price gross. The movie has grossed a total of US$ 274 million worldwide which is the highest for any Video Game Adaptation movie.

Awards and nominations

Angelina Jolie was nominated for the Worst Actress Golden Raspberry Award for her role in the film, but she lost to Mariah Carey in Glitter. The film was also nominated for two MTV Movie Awards, these awards included: Best Female Performance and Best Fight scene, but the film lost to Moulin Rouge! and Rush Hour 2 respectively.

Soundtrack

The Soundtrack

Untitled

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is a 2002 soundtrack album to the film. The various artists soundtrack was released June 14, 2002. The Score was later released on June 25, 2002. The movie also featured the songs "Lila" by Vas and "Piano Concerto in F Minor" performed by Hae-Wong Chang. These were not featured on the soundtrack. Also used in the movie were elements of "Elevation (Influx Remix)" by U2. This was uncredited.

Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

No.	Title	Music	Length
1.	"Elevation" (Tomb Raider Mix)	U2	3:36
2.	"Deep"	Nine Inch Nails	4:08
3.	"Galaxy Bounce"	Chemical Brothers	4:45
4.	"Get Ur Freak On" (Remix)	Missy Elliott ft. Nelly Furtado	3:10
5.	"Speedballin'"	Outkast ft. Cee Lo Green & Joi	4:56
6.	"Ain't Never Learned"	Moby	3:46
7.	"The Revolution"	BT	4:17
8.	"Terra Firma" (Lara's Mix)	Delerium ft. Aude	5:06
9.	"Where's Your Head At"	Basement Jaxx	4:43
10.	"Illuminati"	Fatboy Slim ft. Bootsy Collins	3:14
11.	"Absurd" (Whitewash Edit)	Fluke	3:40
12.	"Song of Life"	Leftfield	7:03
13.	"Edge Hill"	Groove Armada	7:00
14.	"Satellite"	Bosco	3:39
15.	"Devil's Nightmare"	Oxide & Neutrino	6:04
16.	"In Control" (Australian Edition Bonus Track)	Die Toten Hosen	3:13

The Score

Untitled

New Zealand-born Graeme Revell composed the score for Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. After fans complained the soundtrack track-listing was nonsensical, on July 21, 2001, Revell posted a revised track-list on his website.

Producers originally wished to hire game composer Nathan McCree, and later opted for Michael Kamen, a more Hollywood choice. Unfortunately for the composer, he did not receive any feedback from the studio until after supplying a second demo recording where he was dismissed. Composer Graeme Revell was hired very late in the production, with reportedly 10 days to write, record and finish a replacement score. The short amount of time prevented Revell from travelling to the scoring sessions overseas, at London, aided by his associates including his brother.

The CD was released through Elektra Entertainment, but as noted by Revell and after failed attempts to stop the pressings, the tracks were mislabeled. For example, the opening track includes both the Main Titles and Lara Croft at Home cues together. The resulting score was poorly received, even so that the composer himself issued an apology through his website. The tracklist was later revised.

Original Motion Picture Score

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Tomb Raider Main Titles"	3:14
2.	"Lara Croft At Home"	2:13
3.	"Powell And The Illuminati"	2:58
4.	"Lara Dreams Of Her Father"	1:46
5.	"The Clock"	3:01
6.	"Home Invasion"	3:59
7.	"Alex West And Mr. Wilson"	4:05
8.	"The Letter"	1:25
9.	"Journey To Cambodia"	2:00
10.	"Angkor Wat"	7:36
11.	"Lara Battles Stone Monkeys"	3:32
12.	"The Brahman"	1:31
13.	"Siberia"	2:52
14.	"The Planetary Alignment"	5:08
15.	"Lara Defeats Powell"	3:38

Original Motion Picture Score (revised)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Tomb Raider Main Titles/Lara Croft At Home"	3:14
2.	"Powell And The Illuminati"	2:13
3.	"Lara Dreams Of Her Father"	2:58
4.	"The Clock"	1:46
5.	"Alex West And Mr. Wilson"	3:01
6.	"Home Invasion"	3:59
7.	"The Letter"	4:05
8.	"Journey To Cambodia"	1:25
9.	"Angkor Wat"	2:00
10.	"Deep In The Temple"	7:36
11.	"Lara Battles Stone Monkeys"	3:32
12.	"The Brahman"	1:31
13.	"Siberia"	2:52
14.	"The Planetary Alignment"	5:08
15.	"Lara Defeats Powell"	3:38

Reboot

Oscar-nominated scribes Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby have reportedly completed their script work for a rebooting of the Tomb Raider movie franchise, which GK Films acquired the rights in early 2012. The plan, at that time, was to craft a cinematic reworking of adventurer Lara Croft's origins that could (fairly) quickly begin production, in order to make a 2013 release date.

External links

• Lara Croft: Tomb Raider at IMDb
• Lara Croft: Tomb Raider at AllMovie
• Lara Croft: Tomb Raider at the TCM Movie Database
• Lara Croft: Tomb Raider at Rotten Tomatoes
• Lara Croft: Tomb Raider at Box Office Mojo
• Lara Croft: Tomb Raider at Metacritic