Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle Of Life (2003)

 

Directed by Jan De Bont. Starring Angelina Jolie; Ciaran Hinds; Noah Taylor; Gerard Butler. Cert: 12. Running Time: 113 Mins Approx.

Well, what to say? It is not really a film, just a reason to keep stuntmen and stunt co-ordinators in work, and it does that fine. Jan De Bont is a perfect director to have on board then? Well he makes a better go of this than he did Speed 2. The cast here know what is expected of them and it isn’t much. It is like a series of levels in a computer game that seem barely connected except for the fact that you have to get through them to get to the next one. And the prize? A terrifying lava lamp. It uses all the same dynamics as the last film. It doesn’t push the envelope, it isn’t bigger or better. It’s only better in the sense that you may have expected much worse. It gets from A to B and you don’t have t have an embolism to get there – it’s no Sherlock Holmes mystery. Mildly enjoyable popcorn for playstation addicts.

Men In Black 2 (2002)

Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. Starring Tommy Lee Jones; Will Smith; Rip Torn; Lara Flynn Boyle. Cert: PG. Running Time: 84 mins.

What do you get when you have absolutely no new ideas and a big budget? This film perhaps? Stale popcorn? Not to say it’s not watchable. Not to say it’s not above average fare. But it offers nothing new. And for being only 84 minutes long it plods somewhat.

Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are fine as usual, though somewhat telegraphing their performances. The supporting cast does what it needs to. And that’s it. It doesn’t knock your socks off. Doesn’t make you go ooh, ah, that’s cool. Not like the 1st one did. Which is what a sequel needs to do. Underwhelming.

Mr & Mrs Smith (2005)

Directed by Doug Liman. Starring Brad Pitt; Angelina Jolie; Vincent Donofrio. Cert: 15. Running Time: 115 mins.

Well, it’s obvious that the names are picked to be unassuming, shame the film has to be too. Doubly disappointing when you have the teaming of Mr Pitt and Ms Jolie, together with a trusted director like Liman on board — you definitely expect a little more.

The action scenes are serviceable enough but pacing tends to be the problem, in what seems to be an overly long film spun out from a momentarily interesting idea. It is all carried off with such interminable smugness that your interest, which occasionally piques, is squashed back down again.

Not enough gusto, not enough guts, and finally not enough gumption to make you care about the characters and their predicament. They’re pretty to look at, yes, and this is a popcorn movie, but it seems hobbled from the first. See it only if you have nothing else to do.

V For Vendetta (2005)

Directed by James McTeigue. Starring Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Rea, Stephen Fry, John Hurt. Cert: 15. Running Time: 132 Mins.

Alan Moore is not happy with the way the film world treats his books.

I have just seen V For Vendetta and I have to admit that it is a while since I read the graphic novel, but I enjoyed the film for it’s own sake and did not sit there obsessing over how faithful it was to the book. That a mainstream film even attempts to deal with political ideas is noble and somewhat rare.

Yes, League Of Extraordinary Gentleman was a major league disappointment and Swamp Thing, well what more need be said? But this film far outstrips them. You get drawn into the world, into the story — the points come across without being hammered home. There are differences to the book, sure, but the essence has translated. Sometimes the purists and the creators need to let go.

V For Vendetta has wonderful set pieces, a compelling story, actors bringing it all to the table. The running time disappears as you get pulled along on a great ride; a great ride with a serious message, and what could be better? Will McTeigue come away from this with much credit? Maybe, maybe not. But the Wachowski’s have answered the critics who lashed out at the Matrix sequels with a confident vision. It may not be Moore’s, but it works just as well.