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TOMB RAIDER SEQUEL
SCRIPT REVIEWED
Copyright 2002 www.tombraiderchronicles.com Source:
www.corona.bc.ca
[ June 26th 2002 ]
Paramount
Pictures Tomb Raider sequel will begin filming
on August 26th at Pinewood Studios, London, and
on location in China and Africa with Speed director
Jan de Bont helming the Lara Croft franchise vehicle,
according to Film Jerk. Former Oscar winner Angelina
Jolie will return as buxom British gunslinger
Lara Croft sent to rescue the world from the exploits
of an evil Chinese crime syndicate led by oriental
crime lord Chen Lo.
Comming
Attractions has scored this script review which
contains spoilers:
"I've
read many many scripts over a six year career
in Hollywood, most horrible, but Lara Croft and
the Cradle of Life by Dean Georgaris (draft date:
10 June 02) is rather impressive, if for no other
reason than it contains all of the pieces we've
come to expect from the franchise video game.
Gone are the clunky, hard-to-swallow 'dramatic'
moments that I felt buried the first movie, like
Lady Croft desperate to resolve that oh-so-cliched
relationship with dear-old-dead-dad. Instead,
this puppy focusses on Lara kicking ass and taking
names throughout, in a more adventure-oriented
quest-type movie that feels closer in tone and
action to the video games. The script would feel
very much at home on the Playstation - go to this
mysterious place, do this thing, which leads to
the next mysterious place, and the mystery deepens.
Add pixels and you've got the video game, add
Angelina Jolie and you've got the movie.
"I'm
going to do my best to be spoiler-free here, but
I'll lay out the broad strokes of the plot: Lara's
looking for antiquities in a sunken temple, and
happens upon a sphere that holds the location
of Pandora's Box. Thing is, evil Chen Lo shows
up with some thugs and a thrilling, highly visual
fight ensues in this air-pocketed temple under
water which also just happens to be tilted at
a 45 degree angle with thousands of 'damocles-sword-ish'
threats from above. It's a fitting opening to
the script, and will take your breath away. What
follows involves Lara's attempts to get the sphere
back from Chen Lo with the help of Terry, an old
flame and dangerous snark, before Chen Lo can
sell it to Reiss, who's actually the main bad
guy of the script. Things get murky here, because
the script alludes to Reiss desiring the location
of Pandora's Box so he can use it as a biological
weapon to destroy the world or hold it hostage
- it's never made clear. His motivations are suspect
and rather thin, and there's also a bit about
clones that never is explained.
"Indeed,
*much* of the script rides solely on the shoulders
of the good faith of the reader to roll with the
punches - Chen Lo delays selling the sphere to
Reiss to get more money, but when Terry and Lara
get to Chen Lo's hideout, the sphere is already
on its way to Reiss, even though Reiss hasn't
mentioned anything about paying Chen Lo what he
believes he's due. There's a script-ending double-cross
that makes *no* sense whatsoever; I won't give
it away, but then again, I hope it doesn't survive
to the production draft. Sometimes it appears
as though screenwriters *think* something just
should happen, but don't work out exactly *why*
it happens. That's frequently the case here.
"All
that said, Lara Croft and the Cradle of Life is
packed with set piece after set piece, and while
motivations and characters are thin, the script
makes up for a lot of it through visually arresting
fights, chases, and tension. Shanghai streets
allow for some Lara-Terry-ninja fighting (hey
- it works - whatever), Reiss's lab gives us the
stealth mission level that if it were in the video
game, we'd just accuse it of being a Metal Gear
cop but turns out rather well, and when they do
get to the Cradle of Life and Pandora's Box, the
threats are reminiscent of Indiana Jones and the
Last Crusade, but with someone holding a gun to
Lara's head. It has exactly what we expect, and
doesn't get bogged down in exposition. And best
of all, she never has to visit a museum to have
someone explain to the audience the meaning and
purpose of a plot point.
"A couple
of notes: Georgaris has a thing for referring
to Lara's 'hand-cannons.' Whoa. Pistols, guns,
whatever, but hand-cannons? Also, there've been
some reports of Angelina Jolie going topless for
the movie - if so, it isn't in this draft. That's
one thing I really appreciated: Lara isn't overly
sexualized here, and nothing feels gratuitous
(except maybe the ass-kicking, but isn't that
the point?). Hillary and Bryce show up, but they're
relegated to rather superfluous roles. And best
of all (for my money) nothing takes place in Lara's
manor, making the script feel much more open and
full than the previous movie.
"All
in all, a strong, if sometimes plot-light, outing.
If the script can solve the problems of motivation
(and they aren't hard to solve), then this puppy
should really cook, and stand up much more favorably
than the last installment."
Reviewer
ANON.
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