Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Entertainment: +2 1/2

Content: -1 1/2

Eccentric archeologist Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie) is back to save the world in this action-adventure sequel. She finds and recovers an ancient spear in an ancient temple located beneath the sea. The sacred spear is actually a map to an even more precious item the mythological Pandoras box which, if opened, has the power to destroy all living things in the world. But the spear is taken from Lara by an evil Chinese crime syndicate led by Dr. Jonathan Reiss (Ciaran Hinds), so she must get to Pandoras box before the bad guys in order to keep it from being opened. The chase goes from Europe to Asia to Africa by land, sea and air. The map reveals that the box is resting inside an African volcano, known as the Cradle of Life. Lara is trained in more than archeology and uses martial arts and a full array of weapons to accomplish her mission.

The film is based on the popular video game by the same name. Lara is a woman who can go head-to-head with any man or beast, yet she maintains a sexy femininity. She has a clear view of right and wrong and is willing to give up personal gain for a just cause. She rides water bikes, horses, jeeps and motorcycles, and she skydives. Lara is not afraid to go after what she wants, including men. She is often seen in tight-fitting outfits that reveal her figure. The film is filled with hand-to-hand fighting and battles involving a variety of weapons. Creepy-looking creatures come out of rocks and drag people to an unknown place. There is also a short scene of a man and woman kissing while lying on top of each other. The PG-13 rating is primarily for violence and some frightening scenes. This is a good-versus-evil film, but the good is not worth the trek through the violence, sexuality and bad language. It therefore is not recommended by Preview.

Preview Reviewer: Alan Boyer
Distributor:
Paramount Pictures

Summary
The following categories contain objective listings of film content which contribute to the subjective numeric Content ratings posted to the left and on the Home page.

Crude Language: several (hell 3, damn 2).

Obscene Language: several (A 2, S-word 1).

Profanity: OMG 3

Violence: many (gun fights, children killed as well as adults, several violent hand-to-hand fights with knifes and clubs, spear guns used as weapons, lots of martial-arts-style fighting).

Sex: none.

Nudity: none.

Sexual Dialogue/Gesture: mild (man coming on to women, man without shirt lying on and kissing woman with garment wrapped around her, same woman on man).

Drugs: none.

Other: frightening-looking creatures come out of shadows and drag people to an unknown destination, Pandoras box said to be the origin of life.

Running Time: 115 minutes.
Intended Audience: teens and adults.


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