Im gonna be short on this one, dont waste your precious time seeing this one. One of the worst films i have ever seen

Even Roger Ebert (in 2004) agrees that not everyone can play Laura Croft. Angelina Jolie is perfect for the part. Not only does she do some of her own stunts, she has that impossibly fit and perfect body to do so. (Sigh) Now the movie, once again, raids no tombs. Here she is after Pandora's Box, accompanied by "Terry Sheridan" a former British Secret Agent now in prison, and her former "lover". He is pardoned to assist her in her quest, and he desires "the box", as do several other nefarious and evil types, including a greedy "mad scientist". Quite an involved story that ends up in Africa, after searching for the "map key" (a glowing sphere) and endless chases all over-the-place, including Hong Kong. Much graphic violence with guns, AK-47's, knifes and swords. Only a beheading is missing. Bad guys are gobbled up by man-eating tree roots (or something). The first half has spellbinding EFX, including dives out of aircraft and impossible leaps from high places. For some stupid reason, the greedy treasure hunters believe that they can control Pandora's Box and sell it for profit. (Silly mortals) Is the box from the Greek Gods or Outer Space? It is found in a pool of acid, not water, as a goddess wept for it. Unleashing it's power has happened before, and it is responsible for several plagues throughout history. Spoiler: Laura throws "Dr. Evil" in the acidic water and he "melts". She shoots Terry to prevent him from stealing and opening The Box. As Laura says, "Not all treasures are meant to be found". A truly sad ending.

Adventuress Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie) is diving the lost Luna Temple of Alexander the Great in Greece and discovers a glowing orb. They are attacked by Chen Lo and his men. Lara barely escapes. Meanwhile, mad scientist Jonathan Reiss (Ciarán Hinds) is searching for the mythical Pandora's Box which the glowing orb is the key to. MI6 needs Lara's help to go after Chen Lo who plans to sell the orb to Reiss. Lara gets Terry Sheridan (Gerard Butler) released to go on the hunt with her.Lara explains that in 2300BC, an Egytian Pharoah located the Cradle of Life and Pandora's Box which contains a plague or anti-life. The Box destroyed the Pharoah's army and he sent it away to India to be hidden. Alexander the Great rediscovered the Box, returned it back to Cradle of Life, and its location on the Orb.The story is way more complicated than it needs to be. There is so much exposition to get through at the start. It may work for a video game, but it doesn't work well for a story. This is basically a female James Bond but only more ridiculous. At least, the first one had the fun of something new and shinny. This one repeats the same formula but it feels old. The outrageous action feels tired. The exotic locations aren't quite so exotic since most of it takes place out in the wilderness or on an obvious sound stage. Even wing gliding over Hong Kong feels slow and boring. Lara is as cold as ever and Gerard Butler doesn't add enough heat. In a sophomore movie of a franchise, they need to go bigger or go home. They didn't go big enough.

One of the most popular characters in video gaming lore returns to the big screen! I've always wanted to like the first Tomb Raider film, and it does have its moments, but something about it always threw me off. I blame it on its indulgence in style over substance, with its chopped-up action scenes, choppy narrative, and one too many surreal scenes. As it is with any sequel, I expected improvements. Even though both films were poorly received by critics, I do believe that the second Tomb Raider film delivers the solid, straightforward adventure story I always expected.If nothing else, TR:COL cuts to the chase and maintains a clearer narrative than its predecessor. It still has its excesses (do we really need to see Lara doing flips on a jetski?), but the pacing is tight and even throughout. This sequel is still really high on style and action, but it is a smooth and fluid experience; while the first film was rather choppy, this movie is smooth with its camera work and editing, allowing the action to flow and stand well on its own. There are plenty of smashing shoot-out scenes (especially in the Hong Kong scenes), and quite a few impressive stunts. Special effects are used quite liberally, for better or for worse. Overall, the action and style is satisfying.The substance suffers a little, especially since the strengths of the first film are absent. This film keeps the characters one-dimensional. The best that can be said is that they try to develop chemistry, which is meant to resonate stronger by the film's conclusion, and it is partway successful. As far as the plot goes, it's pretty standard adventure fare, but I felt that the quest for Pandora's Box was a fairly interesting subject. The film does suffer from some ridiculous scenes (such as Lara punching a shark...really?!), but for a brainless popcorn flick, I've seen way worse.This film is really smooth and slick, with stylish and solid photography and editing. Acting is not a huge standout, but it's not as cringe-worthy as the first film. Angelina Jolie returns and does her best to bring Lara Croft to life; even though she still only channels the single-dimension action heroine of the late 90s and early 00s, she does a decent job at it. Gerard Butler puts in as much charm as he can, for better or for worse. Everybody else is passable. Writing is average. This production has some great-looking locales, and features some slick sets, props, and costumes. Special effects are fairly pretty to look at, but are often frivolous and still rather fake-looking. Music is cool; the soundtrack features a number of good songs, while Alan Silvestri's score pretty much uses the same melody as The Mummy Returns to strike up the right tone.I personally enjoy this film, because even if it is a shallow run-of-the-mill cash-in, it is a good-looking action-packed one. Really, it's only recommended to die-hard fans.4/5 (Entertainment: Very Good | Story: Average | Film: Pretty Good)