Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)
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An adventurer must race against the Illuminati to find and destroy two halves of an ancient artifact capable of controlling time.
The story
Adventurer Lara Croft discovers a mysterious clock in her family manor, which her father's notes reveal is the key to a powerful ancient artifact known as the Triangle of Light. The artifact, which has the power to control time, was split into two pieces and hidden in a tomb in Cambodia and a ruined city in Siberia. Lara must navigate these dangerous locations to find and destroy the pieces before the Illuminati can seize them for their own ends. Along the way, she must contend with various rivals and the treacherous environments of the ancient sites.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After discovering a mysterious clock in her manor, Lara Croft learns from her father's notes that it is the key to the Triangle of Light, an artifact capable of controlling time. The artifact was split into two pieces: one in a tomb in Cambodia and the other in Siberia. Lara teams up with various allies and rivals, including the mercenary Alex West and the mysterious Manfred Powell. In Cambodia, she successfully retrieves the first piece but is pursued by Powell's men. In Siberia, she finds the second piece. Powell attempts to use the artifact to resurrect Lara's father, but the pieces fail to fuse. In a final confrontation, Lara faces her father's spirit, who urges her to destroy the artifact. She ultimately destroys the Triangle, defeats Powell, and returns home to her manor.
- First release year
- 2001
- Runtime (minutes)
- 100
- Production countries
- Germany; Canada; Japan; United Kingdom; United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Simon West
- Writers
- Patrick Massett · screenplay; John Zinman · screenplay; Sara B. Cooper · story; Mike Werb · story; Michael Colleary · story
- Cast and characters
- Angelina Jolie · Lara Croft; Jon Voight · Lord Richard Croft; Iain Glen · Manfred Powell; Noah Taylor · Bryce; Daniel Craig · Alex West
- Genres
- action; adventure
- Themes
- father-daughter relationship; time; treasure hunting
- Tone and mood
- action; adventure
- Setting
- Cambodia, Siberia, Venice, and a family manor.
- Premise and plot tags
- video game adaptation; ancient artifacts; conspiracy
- Source material / true-story basis
- Tomb Raider video game series
- Franchise connections
- Tomb Raider
- Reception
- The film received generally negative reviews from critics, who criticized the plot and action sequences, though Angelina Jolie's performance was praised. It was a box office success and was noted as one of the higher-grossing video game adaptations.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 33 · scale: 100 · review count: 31; CinemaScore · score: B · scale: A to F; IGN · score: 0.0 · scale: not stated
- Production trivia
- The film was the first major motion picture to be shot in Cambodia since 1964.; The script underwent numerous changes, including a version that was intended to be an R-rated action horror.; Angelina Jolie wore a padded bra to increase her bust size for the role.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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