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.

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.