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

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

Jan de Bont

Writers (WGA):

Dean Georgaris (screenplay)
Steven E. de Souza (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

25 July 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Thriller

Plot:

Lara Croft is on a quest to save Pandoras box.

Plot Keywords:

Orb | Pandoras Box | Machine Gun | Jet Ski | Mansion

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Angelina Jolie	...	Lara Croft
Gerard Butler	...	Terry Sheridan
Ciarán Hinds	...	Jonathan Reiss
Chris Barrie	...	Hillary (as Christopher Barrie)
Noah Taylor	...	Bryce
Djimon Hounsou	...	Kosa
Til Schweiger	...	Sean
Simon Yam	...	Chen Lo
Terence Yin	...	Xien
Daniel Caltagirone	...	Nicholas Petraki
Fabiano Martell	...	Jimmy Petraki
Jonathan Coyne	...	Gus Petraki
Robert Cavanah	...	MI6 Agent Stevens
Ronan Vibert	...	MI6 Agent Calloway
Lenny Juma	...	Village Leader
Raymond Ofula	...	Village Leader (as Raymond Offula)
Hezron Ajuala	...	Village Leader
Alfred Kalipso	...	Tribesman
Vincent Mbaya	...	Tribesman
Ace Yonamine	...	Shay Ling Giant (as Ace Shigeo Yonamine)
Robert Atiko	...	Armin Kal
Shirley Chantrell	...	Shu Mei
Sang Lui	...	Shay Ling Messenger
Richard Ridings	...	Mr. Monza
Elizabeth Seal	...	Buyer
Hajaz Akram	...	Buyer
Daryl Kwan	...	Buyer
Richard Woo	...	Buyer
David Kershaw	...	Buyer
Marem Hernandez	...	Air Stewardess
Kate Loustau	...	Air Stewardess
Ralf Beck	...	Sean's Man
Tom Wu	...	Sean's Man
Gerald Kyd	...	Sean's Man
Mark Sung	...	Taipei Father
Loan Tran	...	Taipei Mother
Charlotte Nguyen	...	Taipei Girl
Vincent Poon	...	Taipei Boy
Tom Yang	...	Reiss' Guard
Jamie Cho	...	Reiss' Guard
Khan Bonfils	...	Reiss' Guard
Jose Cuenco Jr.	...	Reiss' Guard
Andrew Joshi	...	Reiss' Guard
Mark Hampton	...	Reiss' Guard
Michael Wagg	...	Lead Tech
Martin Glyn Murray	...	Submarine Medic
Graham McTavish	...	Submarine Captain

Directed by
Jan de Bont

Writing credits (WGA)
Dean Georgaris		(screenplay)
Steven E. de Souza		(story) and
James V. Hart		(story)

Produced by
Shelly Clippard	....	associate producer
Holly Goline	....	associate producer
Lawrence Gordon	....	producer
Philip Lee	....	line producer: Hong Kong
Lloyd Levin	....	producer
Jeremy H. Smith	....	executive producer (as Jeremy Heath-Smith)
Louis A. Stroller	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Alan Silvestri

Cinematography by
David Tattersall		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Michael Kahn

Casting by
Daniel Hubbard
John Hubbard

Production Design by
Kirk M. Petruccelli

Art Direction by
Silver Cheung
John Fenner
John C. Hill
Paul Kirby
Frank Walsh

Set Decoration by
Sonja Klaus

Costume Design by
Lindy Hemming

Makeup Department
Suzanne Belcher	....	assistant makeup artist
Frances Hannon	....	makeup department head
Belinda Hodson	....	makeup artist
Colin Jamison	....	chief hair stylist
Jan Jamison	....	key hair stylist
Neil Morrill	....	key sculptor
Belinda Parish	....	makeup artist
Janeen Schreyer	....	makeup designer: Ms. Jolie
Lisa Tomblin	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Terry Bamber	....	production manager: second unit
Erica Bensly	....	unit manager
Chris Brock	....	production manager: Greece
Chris Brock	....	production manager: Hong Kong
Chen On Chu	....	production manager: Hong Kong
Peter Heslop	....	unit production manager
Jeremy Johns	....	production manager: Kenya
Tim Lewis	....	unit manager
Jenny Panoutsopoulos	....	production manager: Greece (as Jenny Panoutsopoulou)
Cindy Rodkin	....	production supervisor: Kenya
Michael Solinger	....	post production supervisor
Johnny Wang	....	production supervisor: Hong Kong

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Pierros Andrakakos	....	second second assistant director: Greece
Dimitris Birbilis	....	second assistant director: Greece
Rob Burgess	....	third assistant director
Josephine Chan	....	second assistant director: Hong Kong
Wai Pun Chan	....	second assistant director: jump unit (as Chan Wai Pun)
Thomas Chow	....	first assistant director: jump unit (as Thomas Chow Wai Kwan)
Simon Crane	....	second unit director
Barbara Efthymiou-Harris	....	third assistant director: Greece
Toby Hefferman	....	second assistant director: second unit
Samson Sin Ka Keung	....	second second assistant director: Hong Kong
Martin Krauka	....	second second assistant director
Ben Lanning	....	third assistant director
Cliff Lanning	....	first assistant director
Iain Lawrence	....	assistant director
Terence Madden	....	third assistant director: second unit (as Terence Madden Jr.)
Terry Madden	....	first assistant director: second unit
Okonga Mbanda	....	third assistant director: Kenya
Bob Nyanjah	....	third assistant director: Kenya
Tony Rimwa	....	third assistant director: Kenya (as Tony Rimwah)
Matthew Sharp	....	second assistant director
Mathew Tang	....	first assistant director: Hong Kong

Art Department
Ravi Bansal	....	concept illustrator
Andrew Barnden	....	storyboard artist
Rob Bliss	....	concept illustrator
Guy Bradley	....	draughtsman
Adam Brockbank	....	concept illustrator
Neal Callow	....	draughtsman
Anthony Caron-Delion	....	assistant art director
Paul Catling	....	concept illustrator
Chris Clarke	....	prop man
Ben Collins	....	concept model maker
Jim Cornish	....	storyboard artist
Sarah Duncan	....	assistant buyer
Dave Evans	....	armoury props
Teri Fairhurst	....	art department assistant
Kate Grimble	....	draughtsman
Emma Hanson	....	sculptor
Jane Harwood	....	junior draughtsperson
Toby Hawkes	....	senior props/modeller
Peter Hawkins	....	propmaker
John C. Hill	....	art director: Useful Companies
Frank Howe	....	drapesman
Robert Jackson	....	carpenter
Nicky Kaill	....	scenic artist
Carol Kupisz	....	graphic designer
Dominic Lavery	....	concept artist
Emma Lovell	....	art department runner
Richard Lyon	....	construction buyer
Steve Macher	....	stand-by rigger
Tony Marks	....	carpenter
Iain McFadyen	....	draughtsman
Stephen Morahan	....	assistant art director
Michael Redding	....	construction coordinator
Tony Rimmington	....	draughtsperson (as Anthony Rimmington)
Tony Roche	....	action graphics
Tom Still	....	set designer
Karen Wakefield	....	buyer: Hong Kong
Su Whitaker	....	art director: stand-by camera
Tom Whitehead	....	draughtsman
Krissi Williamson	....	production buyer
Luke Edwards	....	set decorating runner (uncredited)
Toby Harvard	....	art department experience (uncredited)
Daniel Thompson	....	carpenter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Steve Boeddeker	....	sound designer
Steve Boeddeker	....	supervising sound editor
John Brady	....	boom operator
Kent Brown	....	assistant sound designer
Brian Chumney	....	assistant sound editor
John Cochrane	....	supervising sound editor
Ed Colyer	....	foley recordist
Colin Cooper	....	adr recordist
Vincent Cosson	....	sound mix technician
Nick De Semlyen	....	editorial assistant
Nathan Duncan	....	sound assistant trainee
David Evans	....	sound effects editor
Martin Evans	....	supervising foley editor
Will Files	....	assistant sound designer
Will Files	....	assistant sound editor
Peter Gleaves	....	adr mixer
Nina Hartstone	....	supervising dialogue editor
John Hughes	....	sound
Robert Ireland	....	supervising adr editor (as Rob Ireland)
Alex Joseph	....	sound effects editor
Simon Kaye	....	sound mixer
Rick Kline	....	re-recording mixer
Jed Loughran	....	assistant sound editor
Mitch Low	....	boom operator
Jim McBride	....	sound maintenance
Chris Munro	....	sound mixer
Ian Munro	....	sound mixer: second unit
Paul Munro	....	boom operator: second unit
Robin Quinn	....	foley editor
Steve Schwalbe	....	sound effects editor
Gary Summers	....	re-recording mixer
David Sutton	....	boom operator
Randy Thom	....	re-recording mixer
Randy Thom	....	supervising sound designer
John Warhurst	....	assistant sound editor
Jack Whittaker	....	sound editor
Andrew Caller	....	sound mix technician (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Andy Aitken	....	special effects
Duncan Armstrong	....	special effects
Scott Armstrong	....	special effects
John Arnitt	....	special effects
Jonathan Barrass	....	special effects assistant
Steve Benelisha	....	special effects
Ian Biggs	....	special effects senior technician
Nick Bonathan	....	special effects crew
Paul Brady	....	special effects
Richard Brown	....	senior special effects technician
Helen Bucknill	....	special effects
Jim Busby	....	special effects
Gordon Cave	....	special effects
Sui Kam Cheung	....	special effects technician: Hong Kong (as Cheung Sui Kam)
Paul Clancy	....	special effects senior technician
Viola Colditz	....	special effects
David Cook	....	special effects
Chris Corbould	....	special effects director
Ian Corbould	....	special effects senior technician
Lynne Corbould	....	special effects buyer
Steve Crawley	....	special effects wire supervisor
Dave Eltham	....	special effects senior technician
Jody Eltham	....	special effects assistant
Nick Finlayson	....	senior special effects technician
Kam Tong Fok	....	special effects technician: Hong Kong (as Fok Kam Tong)
Michael Fox	....	special effects technician
Richard Gregory	....	special effects
Darrell Guyon	....	special effects senior technician
Kevin Herd	....	special effects workshop supervisor
John Holmes	....	special effects senior technician
Dan Homewood	....	special effects
Chris 'Flimsy' Howes	....	special effects technician (as Christopher Howes)
Colin Hurry	....	special effects
Stephen Hutchinson	....	special effects senior technician (as Steve Hutchinson)
Matthew Johnson	....	special effects (as Matt Johnson)
Tim Jordan	....	special effects
Dave Keen	....	special effects senior technician
Jeff Knight	....	special effects
Paul Knowles	....	special effects shop supervisor
Stuart Leach	....	special effects
Jess Lewington	....	assistant special effects buyer
Steve Lewis	....	special effects senior technician
Ian Lowe	....	special effects floor supervisor
Jim Machin	....	special effects senior technician
Roger Mann	....	special effects
Luke Marcel	....	special effects technician
Andrew Martin	....	special effects
Kevin Mathews	....	special effects wire technician (as Kevin Matthews)
Huw Millar	....	special effects (as Huw Miller)
Ian Mitchell	....	special effects
Steve Moncur	....	senior technical director
Charles Munehe	....	special effects technician: Kenya
Tom Murtagh	....	senior special effects technician
James Njagi	....	special effects technician: Kenya
Peter Notley	....	special effects floor supervisor
Roy Quinn	....	special effects shop supervisor
Jason Reed	....	special effects
Lee Rider	....	special effects technician
Matthew Roberts	....	special effects technician (as Matt Roberts)
Steve Scotton	....	special effects technician
Graham Shannahan	....	special effects
Philip Sharpe	....	special effects technician
Andy Simm	....	special effects
Tony Smart	....	special effects assistant
Andrew Smith	....	special effects shop supervisor
Dan Stanton	....	special effects
Annabel Tait	....	special effects
Richard Todd	....	special effects senior technician
John Van Der Pool	....	special effects senior technician
Kevin Walker	....	special effects
Andrew Warner	....	special effects
Brian Warner	....	special effects senior technician
Barry White	....	special effects
Conway Wickliffe	....	special effects crew
Daniel Williams	....	special effects assistant
Stephanie Bell	....	special effects model maker (uncredited)
Chris Clarke	....	effects props (uncredited)
T.K. Lang	....	special effects crew (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Andrea Adams	....	animator: Peerless Camera Company
Nicolas Aithadi	....	lighting technical director: MPC
Sav Akyüz	....	visual effects editor: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Vania Alban-Zapata	....	lead dynamics artist
Vania Alban-Zapata	....	technical director: MPC
Marcus Alexander	....	digital grade film editor: Framestore CFC
John B. Anderson	....	senior shader writer: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Marc Atherfold	....	camera assistant
Oliver Atherton	....	scanning and recording
John Attwood	....	gaffer: blue screen special effects
Henry Badgett	....	compositor: MPC
Richard Bain	....	lead digital effects supervisor: Double Negative
Chris Baker	....	visual effects editorial coordinator
Mark Bakowski	....	digital compositor
Peter Baldwin	....	technical director
Murray Barber	....	lead compositor: MPC
Gavin Baxter	....	CG sequence designer: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Paul Beaumont	....	production accountant
Pete Bebb	....	technical director: Double Negative (as Peter Bebb)
Susanne Becker	....	2D artist: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Nick Bedford	....	digital effects assistant producer: Peerless Camera Co
Steven Begg	....	visual effects supervisor (as Steve Begg)
Joel Behrens	....	visual effects: Asylum
Hitesh Bharadia	....	senior CG artist: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Martin Body	....	lead rotoscope artist: Peerless Camera Co. Ltd.
Jim Bowers	....	digital matte painter
David A.T. Bowman	....	senior compositor: Jim Henson's Creature Shop (as David Bowman)
Charlie Bradbury	....	visual effects production manager: MPC
Paul Brannan	....	render wrangler
Richard Briscoe	....	senior digital compositor
Will Broadbent	....	technical director: MPC
Jon R. Brown	....	match move technician (as Jon Brown)
Steve James Brown	....	visual effects
Steve Brown	....	CG artist: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Danny Brunton	....	digital compositor
Zara Bullock	....	data operator
Delphine Buratti	....	digital effects artist
Andy Burrow	....	scanning manager
Billy A. Campbell	....	visual effects
Martin 'Smoke' Carroll	....	pre-vis character animator
Scott Chambers	....	film editorial
Fred Chapman	....	technical director: MPC
Edward Xi Chen	....	data operator
Lee Chidwick	....	digital I/O
Jeppe N. Christensen	....	digital artist
Darren Christie	....	digital artist: pre-visualization
Chris Clarke	....	camera assistant
Jeff Clifford	....	visual effects programmer: Double Negative
Emily Cobb	....	lead matchmove artist: Double Negative
Isabel Cody	....	matchmove artist: Double Negative
Peter Connelly	....	lead digital compositor: MPC (as Pete Connelly)
Dan Copping	....	previs animator
Stephen Coren	....	digital effects artist
Michelle Corney	....	visual effects line producer: MPC
Shane Costar	....	compositor: Cinesite
Dayne Cowan	....	technical director
Simon Cox	....	data operator
Mike Cusack	....	technical director: MPC
Steve Cutmore	....	compositor: Peerless Camera Company
Aimee Dadswell-Davies	....	visual effects production assistant: Cinesite (as Aimee Dadswell)
Sean Danischevsky	....	digital compositor: Double Negative
Tabitha Dean	....	visual effects editor: Framestore CFC
Jean-Claude Deguara	....	CG animator: MPC
Dimitri Delacovias	....	matte painter: Double Negative
Clara de Paz	....	roto/prep artist
Keith Devlin	....	compositor: Cinesite
Ian Differ	....	visual effects editor
Gavin Digby	....	compositor: Cinesite
Gareth Dinneen	....	compositor
Ben Dishart	....	matte painter: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
John Paul Docherty	....	digital effects supervisor: Peerless
Ferran Domenech	....	character modeler: MPC (as Ferran Domenech Gutierrez)
Ferran Domenech	....	character setup: MPC (as Ferran Domenech Gutierrez)
Ditch Doy	....	head of CG: Peerless Camera Co
Martyn Drake	....	systems/operations: MPC
Nick Drew	....	visual effects producer: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Wayde Duncan-Smith	....	technical director: MPC
Frederic Durand	....	senior CG artist: Jim Henson's Creature Shop (as Fred Durand)
Dave Early	....	lead matte painter: MPC (as David Early)
Chris Elson	....	compositor: MPC
Michael Elson	....	head of production
Nousha Emami	....	CG artist: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Andy Feery	....	technical director: MPC
Greg Fisher	....	animator: MPC
Justin Fleming	....	data operator
Andy Fowler	....	additional visual effects producer (as Andrew Fowler)
Pawl Fulker	....	previsualisation supervisor
James Furlong	....	CG artist: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Martin Gardeler	....	technical director: Double Negative
Ricky Gausis	....	data operator
Adam Gefen	....	digital compositor
Tracey Gibbons	....	assistant visual effects producer
Julien Goldsbrough	....	match mover
Neill Gorton	....	designer: shadow warrior
Gavin Graham	....	technical director: Double Negative (as Gavin 'Bubbles' Graham)
Michael Grobe	....	technical director
Manuel Guillen	....	CG artist: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Metin Gungor	....	matte painter: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Metin Gungor	....	texture artist: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Andy Hague	....	visual effects editorial
Pete Hanson	....	studio manager: Double Negative (as Peter Hanson)
Harvey Harrison	....	director of photography
Dan Harrod	....	compositor: Cinesite
Simon Haslett	....	compositor
Rachael Haupt	....	texture artist: MPC
Kieron Helsdon	....	previs artist: Mill Film
Ben Hicks	....	digital compositor
Rob Hill	....	data operator
Martin Hobbs	....	visual effects producer
Pamela Hobbs	....	texture artist: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Jan Hogevold	....	digital grade producer
Jan Hogevold	....	visual effects producer
Robin Hollander	....	roto/prep artist
Katja Hollmann	....	scanning and recording operator: Cinesite
Rudi Holzapfel	....	compositing supervisor: MPC
Garrett Honn	....	digtial compositor: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Myf Hopkins	....	head of production: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Russell Horth	....	digital compositor: Framestore-CFC
Yoko Ishiguro	....	compositor: Double Negative
Dag Iversay	....	compositor: Cinesite (as Dag Ivarsoy)
Allan Torp Jensen	....	digital artist
Lars Johansson	....	character animator
Lorraine Johnson	....	film recording: Cinesite
Phillip Johnson	....	animator: Double Negative
Simon Johnson	....	film recording: Cinesite
Dennis Jones	....	digital compositor
Tim Jones	....	render wrangler
Marc Jouveneau	....	digital compositor
Olivier Junquet	....	technical director: MPC
Ilyas Kaduji	....	3D animator: Cinesite
Matt Kasmir	....	digital compositor
Lucinda Keeler	....	data operator
Laurent Kermel	....	CG sequence designer: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Laurent Kermel	....	lead technical director
Sabine Kertscher	....	2D artist: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Tom Kimberley	....	roto/prep artist
Greg King	....	technical director: MPC
Diane Kingston	....	digital effects producer: Peerless Camera Co
Andrew Koutsou	....	match move technician
Paul Lada	....	previsualization animator
Paul Lambert	....	lead compositor
Kirsty Lamb	....	compositor: Cinesite
Stefan Lange	....	visual effects photographer: jump unit, Hong Kong
Martin Lanzinger	....	3D animator: Cinesite
Stuart Lashley	....	digital compositor
Kirsty Lawlor	....	digital compositor
Ken Lawrence	....	systems
Phillip Leonhardt	....	compositor
Bruno Lesieur	....	lead lighting technical director: MPC
Dan Levy	....	senior CG artist: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Sean Lewkiw	....	CG sequence designer: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Mattias Lindahl	....	3D supervisor
David Lloyd	....	render engineer: MPC
Nick Lloyd	....	CG sequence designer: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Huw Lynes	....	systems
Alasdair MacCuish	....	digital lab supervisor: Framestore CFC
Tony Man	....	roto/prep artist
Sarah Marchant	....	digital compositor
Andrew Marshall	....	technical director: MPC
Gary Marshall	....	render wrangler: MPC
Matthew Maude	....	3D animator: Cinesite
Marian Mavrovic	....	digital compositor
Jamie McCarter	....	character animator and rigger: Double Negative
Doug McCarthy	....	model effects
Jason McDonald	....	animator
Ian McFadyen	....	digital effects artist
Lindsay McFarlane	....	visual effects coordinator
Nakia McGlynn	....	matchmove artist: Jim Henson's Creature Shop London
Gurel Mehmet	....	digital matte painter: JHCS
Craig Mepham	....	match mover
Evonne Merlicek	....	digital effects artist
Mark Michaels	....	on-set digital effects supervisor
Andy Middleton	....	matte painter: MPC
Ivor Middleton	....	3D animator: Cinesite
Neil Miller	....	matte painter: Double Negative
Steve Moncur	....	technical director: MPC
Alberto Montañés	....	digital compositor: Jim Hensons Creature Shop
Ray Moody	....	motion control
Ben Morgan	....	compositor
Richard Morris	....	technical director: MPC
Jesh Murthy	....	CG sequence designer: Jim Henson's Creature Shop (as Jesh Krishna Murthy)
Dan Neal	....	lighting technical director
Christian Nerving	....	technical director: Double Negative
Helen Newby	....	compositor
Wolfgang Niedermeier	....	lead matchmover
Paul Oakley	....	3D animator: Cinesite
Tim Ollive	....	animator: Peerless Camera Company
Tor-Bjorn Olsson	....	2D supervisor
Lester Parker	....	data operator
Stuart Partridge	....	senior compositor
Simon Payne	....	digital artist: Jim Hensons Creature Shop
John Peck	....	digital compositor
Geoff Pedder	....	lighting technical director
Craig Penn	....	animator: MPC
Joseph Pepper	....	CG sequence designer: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Eric Petey	....	animator: Double Negative
Daniel Pettipher	....	composite supervisor: MPC (as Dan Pettipher)
Chris Petts	....	sequence supervisor: shadow guardian sequence, MPC
David Phillips	....	digital compositor
Hannah Pierce	....	lead compositor: MPC
Marnie Pitts	....	digital artist: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Matthew Plummer	....	digital effects producer: Double Negative
Richard Poet	....	editorial assistant: MPC
Marine Poirson	....	lighting artist: JHCS
Bruno Pollet	....	animator: Peerless Camera Company
Cristina Puente	....	digital compositor
Rudy Raijmakers	....	Computer Animation
Kieron Reed	....	modeler: Double Negative
Kieron Reed	....	technical director: Double Negative
David Rey	....	lead compositor (as Dave Rey)
Mark Richardson	....	digital compositor: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Martin Riedel	....	digital compositor: MPC
John Roberts-Cox	....	CG sequence supervisor: pod sequence, MPC
Digby Rogers	....	texture artist: Double Negative
Susi Roper	....	digital effects producer: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Alex Rothwell	....	CG sequence designer: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Paul Round	....	senior Inferno artist: Peerless Camera Co
Jean-Paul Rovela	....	lighting technical director: MPC
Craig Rowe	....	2D artist: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Sue Rowe	....	visual effect supervisor: Cinesite
Matthew Sagar	....	systems
Jeremy Sawyer	....	data operator
Carlo Scaduto	....	compositor
Michele Sciolette	....	technical director
David Sewell	....	digital compositor
Ira Shain	....	character animator
Matthew Shaw	....	video editorial
Dan Sheerin	....	CG sequence designer: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Ben Shepherd	....	digital effects supervisor
Kevan Shorey	....	matchmove artist: Double Negative
Martyn Siddiqui	....	systems
Serdar Simga	....	texture artist: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Mark Slade	....	digital compositor
John Slattery	....	compositor: Cinesite
Alex Smith	....	compositor: Cinesite
Leila Smith	....	data operator
Andrew Speller	....	camera operator
Mark Spevick	....	animator: Peerless Camera Company
Mark Spevick	....	digital effects artist
Paul Stamp	....	data operator
Piotr Stanczyk	....	software
Jim Steel	....	digital compositor: Double Negative
Paul Stocker	....	systems
Ileana Stravoskiadi	....	animator: Double Negative
Maria Stroka	....	digital grading production coordinator
Maria Stroka	....	film recording producer
Dusan Strugar	....	CG supervisor: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Julien Stuart-Smith	....	lighting artist
Josh Sutcliffe	....	data operator
Åsa Svedberg	....	digital matte painter
John Swinnerton	....	senior compositor: Peerless Camera Company
Michael Talarico	....	digital effects supervisor: Cinesite UK (as Mike Talarico)
Peter Talbot	....	visual effects photographer: jump unit, Hong Kong
Chu Tang	....	shader writer
Ben Thompson	....	technical director: MPC
Joe Thornley	....	senior CG artist: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Matthew Tinsley	....	digital compositor
James Tomlinson	....	matchmove artist: Double Negative
Gavin Toomey	....	visual effects supervisor: FrameStore-CFC
Gang Trinh	....	computer animator
Sophia Tufail	....	digital matte/paint artist
James Turner	....	software
Malin Tvedt	....	compositor
Marc Twinam-Cauchi	....	animator: Peerless Camera Company
Courtney Vanderslice	....	head of production: Cinesite
John Van Hoey Smith	....	data operator
Paola Varvaro	....	digital cleanup artist
Steve Wagendorp	....	assistant colorist
Niki Wakefield	....	compositor
Tara Walker	....	digital I/O
Karen Wand	....	digital compositor
Claus Wehlisch	....	assistant visual effects editor
Andrew Whitehurst	....	technical director
Simon Wicker	....	matte painter: MPC
Simon Wicker	....	texture artist: MPC
Royston Willcocks	....	3D animation supervisor: Cinesite
Angie Wills	....	visual effects producer
Alex Wilmington	....	systems
Corrina Wilson	....	digital compositor
Doug Winder	....	digital artist
Arthur Windus	....	visual effects producer
Kathy Wise	....	digital systems manager
Pat Wong	....	digital compositor
Mike Woodhead	....	match move technician
Helen Wood	....	compositor: Double Negative
Aubrey Woodiwiss	....	junior digital lab operator
Sam Woolf	....	render wrangler
Alex Wuttke	....	senior technical director: Double Negative (as Alex 'the Baron' Wuttke)
Aviv Yaron	....	2D technical director: Cinesite
Trevor Young	....	digital compositor
Christian Zeh	....	digital compositor
Keith Barton	....	technical services: Cinesite (uncredited)
Martin R. Davison	....	digital I/O (uncredited)
Harriet Donington	....	bidding producer: Cinesite (uncredited)
James Eggleton	....	digital I/O: Cinesite (uncredited)
Paul Flanagan	....	digital compositor: Jim Henson's Creature Shop (uncredited)
Peter Guyan	....	senior CG systems administrator: Jim Henson's Creature Shop (uncredited)
Jeremy Hall	....	chief technology officer (uncredited)
Steve Lynn	....	technical support (uncredited)
Christopher Page	....	digital cleanup artist (uncredited)
Daniel Pickering	....	visual effects (uncredited)
Ed Plant	....	digital compositor (uncredited)
Gavin Round	....	assistant visual effects editor: Framestore CFC (uncredited)
Rainer Stolle	....	digital artist (uncredited)
Steve Street	....	head of 3D (uncredited)

Stunts
Tom Aitken	....	stunts
Dessy Amaya	....	stunts
David Anders	....	stunts
Dickey Beer	....	stunt supervisor
Will Beresford	....	stunts
Nicola Berwick	....	stunts (as Nikki Berwick)
Charles Cambera	....	stunts
Chaiyaphon Chanmuntri	....	stunts
Douglas Chege	....	stunts (as Douglas Chege Jason)
Vincent Cheung	....	stunts
Susan Christie	....	stunt double
Simon Crane	....	stunt coordinator
David Cronnelly	....	stunts
Wade Eastwood	....	stunts
Per Eriksson	....	stunt base jumper: jump unit
Neil Finnighan	....	stunts
Glenn Foster	....	stunts
Joseph Wamae Gatonye	....	stunts
Andy Godbold	....	stunts (as Andy Godbolt)
Ainoy Halsackda	....	stunts
Dee Harrup	....	stunts (as Dee Harrop)
Mark Henson	....	stunts
Paul Herbert	....	stunts
Allan Hewitt	....	stunts
Eunice Huthart	....	stunts
Rowley Irlam	....	stunts
Phithak Jantharawijt	....	stunts
Charles Jarman	....	stunt double: Djimon Hounsou
Maina Kariuki	....	stunts
Seng Kawee	....	stunts (as Kawee Sirikhanaerut)
Charles K. Kembero	....	stunts (as Charles Kibwage Kembero)
Amanda Kemp	....	stunts
Supoi Khaowwong	....	stunts
Adam Kirley	....	stunts
Anun Kuaikhangphlu	....	stunts
Bobby Lam	....	stunts
Alphie Lewis	....	stunts
Joshua Lustic	....	stunts
Kim McGarrity	....	stunts
Jo McLaren	....	stunts (as Jo McLaren Ray)
Vicky Molyneaux-Beale	....	stunts
Somchai Moonma	....	stunts (as Somchai Munma)
Mark Mottram	....	stunts
Ray Nicholas	....	stunts
Mikael Nordqvist	....	stunts
Mansri Nret	....	stunts
Martin Ocham	....	stunts (as Martin Ocham Ouma)
Bean Peel	....	stunts
Wai Phan	....	stunts
Jerry Phillips	....	stunts (as Jeremy Philips)
Seon Rogers	....	stunts
Martin Rosén	....	stunt base jumper: jump unit (as Martin Rosen)
Thaweesak Samruai	....	stunts
Gordon Seed	....	stunts
Surawoot Spiratana	....	stunts
Amie Stephenson	....	assistant to action director
Tom Struthers	....	stunts
Suban	....	stunts (as Phuso Suban)
Philip Tan	....	stunts
Taweewong Taweepases	....	stunts
Chaiyaporn Torphon	....	stunts
Joseph Wamae	....	stunts
Vincent Wang	....	stunts
Sombat Wantanorm	....	stunts (as Sombud Wanatanorm)
David Williams	....	stunt wire rigger (as Dave Williams)
Komkrit WongWiroi	....	stunts (as Khamkrip Wangwirot)
Saichia Wongwirot	....	stunts
Gang Wu	....	stunt performer
Richard Wu	....	stunts
Wade Allen	....	fight trainer: Angelina Jolie (uncredited)
Nicola Berwick	....	stunt double: Angelina Jolie (uncredited)
Rowley Irlam	....	stunt double: Till Schweiger (uncredited)
Marc Wolff	....	helicopter stunt pilot (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Kenneth Atherfold	....	grip
Kenneth Atherfold	....	key grip: second unit
Marc Atherfold	....	clapper loader
Alex Bailey	....	still photographer
Telfer Barnes	....	focus puller
Roddy Barron	....	additional photographer: second unit
Roddy Barron	....	camera operator: second unit
Tim Battersby	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Louise Ben-Nathan	....	additional camera trainee
Robert Binnall	....	first assistant camera
Dave Brennan	....	electrician
Wailoon Chung	....	electrician
Chris Clarke	....	camera trainee: second unit
Jason Coop	....	daily second assistant camera
Joey Coughlin	....	electrician
David Cross	....	grip: second unit
Barney Davis	....	second assistant camera
Carlos De Carvalho	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
Lee Eldred	....	electrician
Danny Espey	....	electrician
Mike Evans	....	focus puller
Stephen Fell	....	rigger
Ron Goodman	....	aerial camera operator: SpaceCam
Alan Grayley	....	electrician
Luke Andrew Haddock	....	video playback assistant
Harvey Harrison	....	director of photography: second unit
Rawdon Hayne	....	assistant camera
Dean Head	....	director of photography: second unit, Hong Kong
John C. Hill	....	video technician: Useful Companies (as John Hill)
Andy Hopkins	....	grip: "b" camera
Martin Hume	....	camera operator
Gary Hutchings	....	key grip
Demetri Jagger	....	video technician
Louis Jong	....	chief dolly grip: Hong Kong
John Jordan	....	focus puller
Philip Kenyon	....	grip: second unit
David Kirman	....	digital playback technician
Raymond Lam	....	Steadicam operator: Hong Kong
Brad Larner	....	focus puller: second unit
James Lewis	....	camera assistant
David Mackie	....	clapper loader: second unit
Graham Martyr	....	focus puller
John Marzano	....	aerial director of photography
David Maund	....	grip
Jamie Mills	....	electrician
Dean Morrish	....	underwater first assistant camera
Ian Murray	....	rigger
Ron Nicholls	....	grip
Jennie Paddon	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Peter Robertson	....	Steadicam operator: "a" camera
Simos Sarketzis	....	clapper loader: second unit
James Scott	....	assistant camera
Malcolm Sheehan	....	best boy grip
Mario Spanna	....	assistant video assist: second unit, Wales
Andrew Speller	....	camera operator: second unit
Gary Spratling	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Ryan Taggart	....	camera trainee
Charlie Woodburn	....	first assistant camera: aerial unit
Simon Smith-Hutchon	....	still photographer: second unit (uncredited)

Animation Department
Andrea Adams	....	animator
Greg Fisher	....	animator
Jason McDonald	....	animator
Ileana Stravoskiadi	....	animator

Casting Department
Vanessa Baker	....	adr voice casting
Brendan Donnison	....	adr voice casting
Makis Gazis	....	casting: Greece
Alexandros Romanos Lizardos	....	assistant casting: Greece
Tamara Notcutt	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
David Bethell	....	costume prop
Dan Grace	....	wardrobe supervisor
Tom Hornsby	....	wardrobe master: second unit
Helen Jerome	....	costume assistant: second unit
Gabriella Loria	....	costume buyer
Martin Mandeville	....	costume coordinator
Silvana Sacco	....	costume effects artist
Guy Speranza	....	assistant costume designer
William Steggle	....	wardrobe assistant
Kar Yan Yip	....	assistant costume designer: hong kong
Dominic Young	....	costume maker

Editorial Department
Nick Baldock	....	assistant editor
James Blunden	....	additional editor
Patrick Crane	....	assistant editor
Jo Dixon	....	assistant editor
Alex Fenn	....	assistant editor
James Herbert	....	assistant editor
Kevin Holt	....	assistant editor: avid
Adam Inglis	....	digital color timer
Andrew MacRitchie	....	additional editor
Jabez Olssen	....	assistant editor: Avid
Steve Pang	....	assistant editor: avid
Jon Thompson	....	post-production consultant
Andrew Walton	....	editorial assistant
Samantha Welland	....	post-production coordinator
Cynthia Ludwig	....	assistant editor: avid (uncredited)

Music Department
Peter Afterman	....	music supervisor
David Bifano	....	score coordinator
Sally Boldt	....	music editor: temp music
Jessica Clements	....	music coordinator
Ray Colcord	....	composer: additional music
Jane Antonia Cornish	....	orchestrator
Ned Douglas	....	music programmer
Ned Douglas	....	recording engineer
Scott Fraser	....	music programmer
Steven R. Galloway	....	music editor
Mark Graham	....	music librarian
Kenneth Karman	....	music editor
Richard Lancaster	....	assistant score engineer
Mark McKenzie	....	orchestrator
Sam Okell	....	assistant score engineer (as Sam O'Kell)
Jeffrey Pollack	....	music consultant (as Jeff Pollack)
Joe E. Rand	....	music editor
Dennis S. Sands	....	music scoring mixer (as Dennis Sands)
Dennis S. Sands	....	score recordist (as Dennis Sands)
Alan Silvestri	....	conductor
David Slonaker	....	orchestrator
Steven L. Smith	....	music preparation
Sam Southwick	....	assistant music editor
David A. Stewart	....	composer: additional music
Jacqueline Tager	....	assistant music editor
Margaret Yen	....	associate music supervisor

Transportation Department
Ian Clarke	....	vehicle technician
Graham Kelly	....	action vehicle coordinator
Chris J. Smith	....	picture vehicle technician
Sean Thornton	....	vehicle technician
Gerry Turner	....	transportation coordinator
Terry Wilde	....	driver

Other crew
Laurence J. Alvarez	....	assistant: Mr. Gordon
Dimitris Apostolou	....	production assistant
Daren Bailey	....	marine supervisor: Greece (as Darren Bailey)
Rosie Bedford-Stradling	....	construction nurse
Rick Bernstein	....	assistant: Mr. Gordon
Karen Birtchnell	....	payroll auditor
Charles Bodycomb	....	supervising armorer: second unit
Jan de Bont	....	title designer
Michael Brett	....	security: Ms. Jolie (as Micky Brett)
David Broder	....	location manager: Kenya
Sarah Brook	....	assistant accountant
Beryl Brown	....	assistant production auditor
Julie Brown	....	script supervisor: second unit
Simon Burgess	....	location manager
Humphrey Carter	....	helicopter pilot: Kenya
Catherine Charlton	....	dialogue coach
Eddie Chow	....	personal trainer: Ms. Jolie (as Ed Chow)
Nikki Clapp	....	script supervisor
Clare Collingridge	....	production assistant
Ian Creed	....	marine coordinator: Greece
Susan d'Arcy	....	unit publicist
Tina Ellis	....	assistant production auditor
Dave Evans	....	armorer
Simon Everett	....	helicopter pilot: Kenya
Lorraine Fennell	....	production coordinator: second unit
Jay Floyd	....	clearance administrator
Christos Georgalas	....	assistant marine coordinator: Greece
Donal Geraghty	....	location accountant: Kenya/Hong Kong
Amy Gilliam	....	set production assistant
Benjamin Greenacre	....	location manager: Kenya
Andrew Haddock	....	video coordinator
Anna Hall	....	production coordinator
Jennie Hall	....	production assistant
Barbara Efthymiou Harris	....	assistant production office coordinator
Aine Henson	....	assistant: Mr. Crane
Allan Hewitt	....	jump master: jump unit, Hong Kong
Richard Hooper	....	supervising armorer
Polly Hope	....	assistant script supervisor
Christopher Hutchins	....	production assistant
Lesley Keane	....	assistant production coordinator
Jemma Kearney	....	assistant: Louis A. Stroller
Kostas Kefalas	....	location manager: Greece
Andrew Koutsou	....	production assistant
Samantha Langton	....	publicity assistant
Hayley Lyon	....	accounting assistant
Zoe Margolis	....	set production assistant
Justin McCormack	....	production assistant
Lulu Morgan	....	production coordinator: Greece & Hong Kong
Neil Morphew	....	stand-in: Ciarán Hinds
Steve Morphew	....	stand-in: Gerard Butler
Julian Murray	....	assistant accountant
John Nixon	....	armorer
Justin Owen	....	computer and video supervisor: Useful Companies
Rhys Owen	....	digital playback technician
Lisa Parker	....	production coordinator: Kenya
Frances Patterson	....	assistant: Mr. Stroller
Ben Pugh	....	production assistant
Sascha Robey	....	assistant armorer: 2 Unit
Jane Ryan	....	set production assistant
Ramona Sánchez-Waggoner	....	financial representative (as Ramona Diaz Sanchez)
Mike Savva	....	double: "Hillary"
Helen Seery	....	production auditor
Hemal Shah	....	location coordinator: Amboseli, Kenya
Dave Shaw	....	diving coordinator: Greece
Joss Skottowe	....	armorer
Charlie Somers	....	location manager: England
Adrian Spanna	....	project manager: Useful Companies
Mario Spanna	....	computer playback technician: Useful Companies
Simon Staines	....	creative supervisor: Useful Companies
Richard Thomas	....	modeller
Jane Trower	....	production accountant
Sara-Jane Valentine	....	computer and video coordinator: Useful Companies
Michael Vasquez	....	first assistant auditor
Duffy Walter	....	assistant: Mr. Levin
Jason Wheeler	....	locations: Wales
Katie B. Williams	....	photo/filming double: Angelina Jolie
Simon Wilson	....	animal trainer
Marc Wolff	....	aerial coordinator
Marc Wolff	....	helicopter pilot
Laurie T. Wynne-Jones	....	location unit manager: Wales (as Laurie Wynne-Jones)
David Zealey	....	production assistant: second unit
Mario Zvan	....	location manager: Kenya
Geoff Dibben	....	assistant location manager: UK (uncredited)
Paul Hornsby	....	horse wrangler (uncredited)
David Milhous	....	studio team (uncredited)
Sharon Milton	....	tutor (uncredited)
Paul Sacks	....	additional set production assistant (uncredited)
Mirjam Weber	....	assistant to producer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures
• Mutual Film Company
• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
• Lawrence Gordon Productions
• Eidos Interactive
• Tele München Fernseh Produktionsgesellschaft (TMG)
• Toho-Towa
• October Pictures

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (2003) (USA) (theatrical)
• Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (2003) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Concorde Filmverleih (2003) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Eagle Pictures (2003) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Toho-Towa (2003) (Japan) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2003) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2003) (France) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2003) (UK) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2003) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Paramount Filmes do Brasil (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Paramount Filmes do Brasil (2004) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Paramount Home Video (2003) (USA) (VHS) (widescreen)
• Paramount Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• SBS6 (2006) (Netherlands) (TV) (first national airing)

Special Effects

• Moving Picture Company (MPC) (character animation)
• Moving Picture Company (MPC) (visual effects)
• Double Negative (visual effects)
• Framestore CFC (visual effects)
• Peerless Camera Company (visual effects)
• Cinesite (visual effects)
• Jim Henson's Creature Shop (visual effects)
• Millennium FX (makeup and shadow guardian model design)
• Asylum VFX (visual effects)
• Artem (additional elements)
• Cine Image Film Opticals (end titles)
• FB-FX (specialist scenic coatings) (costume props)
• Ghost ApS
• Plowman Craven & Associates (3D LIDAR scanning and digital modelling)
• Snow Business International (snow effects)
• Thousand Monkeys (visual effects)
• Useful Company (graphic animation and digital playback)
• Visual Effects Company, The (motion control)

Other Companies

• Pinewood Studios  movie studio
• Abbey Road Studios  music recorded and mixed at
• Arion Facilities  dailies telecine transfers
• Blue Sky Films  production services: Kenya
• Camera Revolution  libra head and megamount
• Casting Collective  extras casting
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  cranes and dollies
• Corbis Motion  stock footage
• Cutting Edge  negative cutting
• Dakota Music Services  music preparation
• Double Negative  main title sequence
• Eyetronics  3-D scanning
• First Unit Caterers  catering
• Flying Pictures  aerial filming services provided by
• Framestore CFC  digital intermediate
• Heliservices  helicopter: Hong Kong
• Hollywood Records  soundtrack published by
• Kodak  motion picture film supplied by
• Lee Lighting  electrical equipment (as Lee Electric Lighting)
• Lee Lighting  lighting
• Motion Control Cameras  visual effects
• Movie Lot, The  unit security
• October Pictures  production services: Hong Kong
• Panavision Grips  grip and lighting equipment
• Panavision Grips  super technocrane
• Panavision UK  camera equipment provided by
• Panavision  cameras and lenses
• Pinewood Studios  sound re-recording
• Salon Films  Chapman dolly equipment
• Salon Films  camera equipment provided by
• Salon Films  lighting and grip equipment
• Salon Films  video equipment
• Shepperton Studios  foley recording
• Sinfonia of London  orchestra
• Useful Company  graphic animation and digital video playback (as Useful Companies)
• Useful Company  video assist equipment

Also Known As:

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Die Wiege des Lebens (Germany)
Tomb Raider 2 (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for action violence and some sensuality.

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA | Germany | Japan | UK

Language:

English | Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:12 (video rating) (2003) | UK:12A (original rating) | Iceland:12 | Malaysia:U | USA:PG-13 (certificate #39956) | Ireland:12 | New Zealand:M | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Canada:14A | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Spain:7 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:16 (canton of the Grisons)

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Initial trailers and publicity material credited the story to producer Lloyd Levin and production designer Kirk M. Petruccelli, as well as James V. Hart. However, just before the film was released the WGA decided to credit the story to Hart and Steven E. de Souza.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: When Lara and Terry escape from Reiss's lab in (Hong Kong) Times Square in Causeway Bay they go up a lift, and suddenly they leap off a skyscraper in the middle of Central. Causeway Bay and Central are two different parts of Hong Kong and it is not possible to go up a lift in Causeway Bay and end up on the roof somewhere in Central.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Jimmy Petraki: They found another one. There's going to be no treasure left by the time she gets here.

Movie Connections:

References The Matrix (1999)

Soundtrack:

Reason Is Treason

The Best James Bond Film In Five Years!

Let's face it, the James Bond franchise has become rather limp lately. "The World Is Not Enough" was a debacle of miscasting and an an endless parade of meaningless subplots and tertiary characters. "Die Another Day" suffered from much of the same, but was also saddled with an inexplicable amount of stereo feedback and one of the oddest (if catchiest) theme songs in recent memory. The series has been re-energized with the new entry "The Cradle Of Life," a high-spirited, far-reaching film that doesn't quite succeed but is such an improvement on the originals that you're ready to overlook all that.

Actually, this is a review of "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle Of Life", the sequel to 2001's abysmally dull video-game-based film "Tomb Raider." Angelina Jolie is back as sexy, gun-toting archeologist Lara Croft, and at first glance, it's easy to mistake her for Bond, Jane Bond. Lara is a British citizen of refined taste, highly competent in various forms of weaponry, travels around the globe to exotic locations, has friends (and lovers) in virtually every port, uses a wide variety of nifty gadgets, has an amusing yet dry form of wit, looks fabulous, and routinely saves the world from a madman bent on global domination. She's a better 007 than Timothy Dalton in any case.

The film begins with Lara diving into a sunken temple off the coast of Greece. While there, she is attacked by Chinese mercenaries, her support crew killed and left for dead, the mercenaries making off with a mysterious glowing orb. Seems that mad scientist Jonathan Reiss (Ciaran Hinds) is looking for Pandora's Box, and the orb is the key to finding it. Lara is appointed by MI:6 with stopping Reiss because opening the box would unleash an amazingly nasty plague upon the world. Besides her support staff of Hillary (Chris Barrie) and computer expert Bryce (Noah Taylor), Lara joins forces with ex-lover Terry Sheridan (Gerard Butler), a shifty mercenary and the only person who knows how to get to the mercenaries who stole the orb in the first place. And of course, time is running out.

Jolie is excellent as Lara Croft, and there probably isn't an actress around who would be better cast in the role. Jolie has the physicality, the look, the voice, and the attitude to pull off the role effortlessly. She was the only redeeming factor in the first film, and she's great to watch here. The supporting cast is a mixed bag. Hinds refrains from chewing up too much of the scenery, but he brings to mind some of the more notable Bond villains of recent times. Butler is great to look at, but his performance is far too low-key and deadpan for a movie as bombastic as this one wants to be, especially when he's paired with Jolie, who enters each seen with a relishing look in her eyes. Taylor again acts as a dry kind of comic relief, and he displays far more chemistry with Jolie than Butler does.

One of the biggest improvements in this film is the director. Replacing Simon West (responsible for the monotonous "Con Air") is Jan de Bont ("Speed"), a much more competent director even if some of his films are only barley entertaining ("The Haunting"). de Bont has a knack for action on a small scale, most vividly in a gun-fight staged in a laboratory/office, but his large scale pieces, like Lara body-gliding off of one of Hong Kong's tallest buildings, lack drama. Still, de Bont has chosen good locations and sets for the film, and there is a blessedly welcome lack of the "Matrix"-style visuals and candy-colored bombast so popular in action films of recent memory. He is nothing if not up to task. The film operates well within its own set of rules and physics, unlike many other films that tend to sacrifice internal logic for cheap stunts.

As much of an improvement on the first film as this is, there are still flaws. The script, while improving ten-fold on the original, still falls flat on several occasions, sometimes held up only by Jolie's confident line readings. At almost two hours, the film displays a desperate need for tighter scenes and a quicker pace while simultaneously leaving some scenes cut too quickly. The movie can be very easily divided into stages, which may hold true to the spirit of the video game's levels, but often leaves the audience doing nothing more than predicting when the DVD chapter cuts will occur in six months. Also, like the James Bond films, there is rarely any doubt that Lara will escape any dire situation she finds herself in. Like 007, we always know the hero will prevail in the end, which robs some scenes of the tension needed to excite the audience.

Despite some of these flaws, "The Cradle Of Life" is a fine movie and a good way to spend 2 hours on a summer afternoon. Jolie obviously enjoys the role, and if nothing else, the film is worth it for that alone. Here's hoping the third entry into the series is even better than the this one. 7 out of 10.