Angelina Jolie is one of the most versatile actresses of her generation. She has done films in numerous genres, ranging from action (Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Wanted), to drama (her Oscar-winning role in Girl, Interrupted), as well as Disney (the Maleficent features). She recently joined the MCU with Eternals. This year also marks twenty years since she starred in the action-adventure film, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.
Jolie's portrayal of Lara Croft is based on the successful video game franchise, and the action film is reminiscent of the Indiana Jones pictures, as it revolves around a hero who searches for ancient artifacts. There are also dangerous enemies who intend to use these artifacts for their own personal benefit, which can cause great harm to the world.
In the film, Lara Croft is not only an adventurer, but she also resembles Bruce Wayne in many ways: she's wealthy, lives in a beautiful family manor, is assisted by a loyal butler and an expert technician, and has unlimited resources (guns, tools, computers, books, fast cars, and motorcycles, etc.). She also has her own training area, where she tests her endurance by climbing ropes and using her pistols to take down a robot (sharpening her shooting and fighting skills).
While Lara seems to have everything needed to be an adventurer, the one key element she always misses is her father, Lord Richard Croft (portrayed by Jolie's own father, Jon Voight). Richard was also an explorer, but has been missing and presumed dead for several years. One night, Lara encounters a ticking clock she's never seen before in the manor and tries to investigate its meaning, and how it correlates with her father and his work.
When Lara discovers that the clock is the key to finding the halves of an artifact called the Triangle of Light (an old and mysterious object that has the power to control time), her life is in jeopardy, thanks to Manfred Powell (played by Iain Glen, best known as Ser Jorah Mormont in Game of Thrones). Powell is a member of the Illuminati (as was Richard), a secret society that has been searching for the Triangle for years, and when he learns that Lara has the clock that can help find the ancient artifact, he tries to kill Lara in order to steal the clock.
The film becomes a cat-and-mouse race against time mission to see whether Lara or Powell can encounter the parts of the Triangle first. Their rivalry leads them to some beautifully vast locations, including a temple-mountain in the sunny and exotic Cambodia, where one-half of the Triangle is buried in a secret tomb, while the other half is hidden in a cold and snowy plateau in Siberia.
As Lara, Jolie is perfect in the role because she displays the right balance of femininity, toughness, and intelligence (even though the plot of the film is pure fantasy). She also never allows manipulative men like Powell to intimidate her and is usually a step ahead of her enemies. Lara also shows some playfulness at times, especially when she reunites with another explorer named Alex West, who's also her ex-boyfriend (played by Daniel Craig a few years before becoming James Bond).
Director Simon West (an expert in directing R-rated action films like Con Air and The Expendables 2) provides over-the-top but inventive action sequences, even for a PG-13 rated film. There's a cool scene in Cambodia that involves Croft battling a giant monster statue (responsible for guarding one-half of the Triangle), which is fitting since Croft trains herself to fight big creatures like her robot at home. There's also a big shootout when Powell's men infiltrate Croft's home (as usual, villains constantly miss their target), but Croft manages to swing around and use her physical strength to beat most of the army. Croft and the villainous Powell also have a tough physical battle towards the climax involving knives and hand-to-hand combat.
Croft's butler, Hilary, and her technical assistant Bryce (portrayed by Noah Taylor, also from Game of Thrones) both provide plenty of comic relief as Lara's loyal and trustworthy assistants. Both men manage to be quite involved in the adventure, since Bryce helps Lara research important information, and is good at locating individuals and artifacts that are difficult to encounter. Hilary provides Lara with wardrobe and weaponry. There are small, funny moments when Hilary tries to persuade Lara to wear a nice dress or formal clothing (especially when she visits her father's tombstone), but she almost always goes casual, generally with a tank top and stylish leather pants and jacket.
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider came out in the early 2000s, a time in which heavily stylized action films (such as Mission: Impossible 2 and Swordfish) were critically panned for being formulaic, mechanical, and predictable, displaying style over substance. This Lara Croft film, along with its 2003 sequel and the 2018 reboot, are also accused of committing the same crimes. However, sometimes films (especially action features) are made in order to provide audiences with escapist entertainment, and on that note, a film like this one succeeds due to the talents of its lead star, a charismatic supporting cast, beautiful locations, and visual effects, and fast-paced but well-choreographed action.
The film wasn't a critical success, but it was a box-office success, and nearly everyone agreed that Jolie gave a very good performance as a tough, beautiful, and no-nonsense heroine. There's still a long way to go, but for the past two decades, more heroines, such as Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow and Michelle Rodriguez in the Fast & Furious franchise, have proven that women can portray heroes as powerful as men. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider not only set the stage for cool heroines but also continued the successful acting careers of Angelina Jolie and her co-stars.