LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER

PLOT SUMMARY

Lara Croft is moving through a cavernous room, as though searching for something. Suddenly, a robot's fist bursts out of the plinth beside her. There follows an extended battle with the robot — which turns out to be only an exercise programmed by her electronics wizard Bryce.1

Lara Croft is the daughter of a missing English archeologist. Before he disappeared he told her of an ancient artifact called the Triangle of Light: an artifact that, if used at the time of a "planetary alignment" which occurs every 5,000 years, would give whoever possessed it the power to alter time. Created at the time of the previous alignment, it was misused, and caused the destruction of the city where it was created. The priests of that city split it in two and hid the parts "at the ends of the earth."

Now, the Iluminati seek to unite the parts of the triangle and restore its power — a power they will use to dominate the world. Their agent, Manfred Powell, reports to them in Venice, telling them he is no closer for finding the Key, but that he is "supremely confident" he will succeed.

Lara's father was trying to prevent that, and now the task falls to her. The next planetary alignment will occur within days; she has only that long to find and destroy the triangle. To do so, she needs the All-seeing Eye, which happens to be concealed inside a clock her father hid in a secret room in his mansion. Helpfully, the clock begins ticking as the alignment begins; she follows the sound, smashes the clock, and discovers the Eye.

Later, she shows pictures of it to Manfred Powell, who was recommended by a friend. He realizes that it is the Key, but feigns ignorance. That night, he sends a commando team. They fail to kill Lara, but manage to capture the Eye.

The next morning, Lara gets a special delivery letter. It contains a message from her missing father, which leads her to a detailed letter from him concealed in the binding of a book. The letter sends her to Cambodia, where she must find the Temple of the Dancing Light and the first half of the triangle. Calling in a favor, she arrives in time to find Manfred Powell reclining on a couch outside the Temple, watching a team of locals trying to pull down the seal over the entrance.

Lara, aided by a young girl, finds a back way in. Deciphering ancient writings, she deduces that the socket where Powell is about to place the Eye is a false one, while she is standing next to the real one. At the last minute, he tosses her the Eye. She turns out to be right. Giant mechanisms activate and a stream of mercury is released; it holds the half-Triangle aloft. Lara manages to steal it. Then, like Powell's team, she must fight her way out past statues that have come to life. She succeeds.

In a Buddhist monastery, she places a call to Powell. He invites her to a location in Venice for a "business meeting." Then she orders Bryce to pack for Venice. After a sojourn in which the Abbot, who knew her father, gives her some healing tea, she is off. In Venice, she turns over the half-Triangle to Powell, and they head for Siberia. There, they find a ruined city protected by a "dead zone" within which modern devices do not operate. Lara rings a bell; the vibrations shatter a barrier to a hidden Orrery. Once again, Lara is given the Eye, and once again she finds the proper location for it. The second half of the Triangle appears, and Lara grabs it before Powell can.

Ultimately, the Triangle is completed. Lara uses its power to visit her father. Then she does his bidding and destroys it. She and Powell fight a final battle, hand to hand, as the Orrery collapses around them. Will she win? Will she make it out in time?

Capsule review: Although its cartoonish quality betrays its video-game origin, this film has plenty of well-choreographed action and some awesome special effects.