With Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, Angelina Jolie morphs into Indiana Jolie.
That's a positive move because it means there's a great deal more fun in this sequel, opening in town today, than there was in the original.
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider was essentially a live-action version of the video games that inspired it.
Jolie was simply a sexy crime fighter with a most impressive chest. There was no real personality and therefore no real acting on her part. She looked fantastic in her tight, skimpy costumes and was entirely believable in all the action sequences.
This time around, in addition to a sense of danger, Jolie is allowed to have a sense of humour, a sense of adventure and a libido.
Given that Lara is in search of Pandora's Box she needs all of these and more.
Locked tight in Pandora's Box are untold ills and disasters waiting to be unleashed on mankind.
Lara has to get to this ancient artifact before Dr. Jonathan Reiss (Ciaran Hinds), a madman who, like every madman who ever challenged James Bond or Indiana Jones, is bent on world domination.
Lara has always relied on her two advisers and masterminds, Bryce (Noah Taylor) and Hillary (Christopher Barrie), but this time she also needs the services of former agent and former lover Terry Sheridan (Gerard Butler).
Trouble is he's trouble and is locked away in a maximum-security prison. She offers him a pardon and freedom if he will lead her to Reiss's henchmen and then Reiss himself.
The Cradle of Life is non-stop action as one adventure leads to another, hardly giving Lara or the audience time to catch their collective breaths.
Director Jan De Bont (Speed, Twister) stages each of them with masterful precision but with very little attention. It's all very exhausting and eye-catching where it should have been exhilarating and heart-pounding.
Jolie's best scenes are with Butler because there is a hint of sexual tension between their characters. It's not quite clear who's trying to seduce who or, best of all, whether they'll actually consummate this seething lust.
That provides some semblance of mystery because it's a certainty Lara will thwart Reiss even if it takes to the last second of the movie.
Hinds's performance as the villain is pure cliche. He snarls and barks and drools, revelling in his malevolence.
The minor villains in The Cradle of Life exist simply to be terminated on the lower levels of the game, leaving Hinds for last.
Taylor and Barrie provide some much-needed comic relief but not nearly enough of it.
Djimon Hounsou has a cameo near the end of the film but it appears as if most of his work is on some cutting room floor somewhere. He doesn't add anything to the adventure and is of little help to Lara. Every time there is some danger, he disappears behind a rock or a tree until she settles the score.
The secret of Indiana Jones's and James Bond's success is that they both have a twinkle in their eye and a punchline for every occasion.
Lara has to lighten up even more if she is going to be in their league or if she ever hopes to enjoy as much appeal - or as long a shelf life.
(This film is rated PG)
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