Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: June 15, 2001 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
33
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 31 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
14
Negative:
13
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
So monumentally silly, yet so wondrous to look at, that only a churl could find fault. Read full review
70
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Rather than the mad, kinetic video-game vigor you'd expect, the movie proceeds at a more leisurely and methodical gait. I rather liked that. Read full review
70
SlateDavid Edelstein
She's (Jolie) the most amazing special effect in movies. The best thing in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is a bungee-jumping ballet that Lara performs late at night in her mansion, soaring high and low in Japanese silk pajamas and with her hair pulled tightly back. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeJay Carr
As cumbersome as most films in this subgenre, Angelina Jolie makes it watchable.
60
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Unafraid to look absurd but lacks the self-conviction needed to come off as camp. Read full review
50
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
I realize fantasy-based action movies aren't supposed to be as complex as William Gibson's novels. But do they have to be this simple-minded? Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyPaul Malcolm
Ultimately, Jolie's efforts to establish a character are dashed against the film's increasingly inane dialogue. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
This is just cut-rate, generic daughter of Indy Jones hokum. Read full review
50
NewsweekJeff Giles
Couldn’t have arrived at a better time: movies have been so bad lately that audiences are positively starving for something mediocre. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
It's all about action and ogling -- Jolie's boobs, butt and thighs get so much screen time they deserve their own credits. Read full review
50
USA TodaySusan Wloszczyna
If only the story that surrounds this watchable heroine were as well-stacked. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
A by-the-numbers extravanganza that journeys from London to Venice to Siberia to Cambodia without ever really going anywhere.
50
Miami HeraldCary Darling
The relevant question is: does it rock? And the answer, unfortunately, is no.
50
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
There's no clear plot, no memorable villains, no real logic. But there sure is action.
50
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Has all the appeal of a video game without the joystick. All you can do is watch. It's noisy and moves fast, but if you can't play, why pay? Read full review
42
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
The opportunity to give Jolie the room to swagger like the "Charlie's Angels" or "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" ladies is utterly squandered, and a video game franchise that might've resulted in a hoot of a film -- has been blown to dust. Read full review
40
Film.comGemma Files
She's not a real person, in any way, shape or form -- which makes watching Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, the first in a projected series of live-action films based around her exploits, a visually spectacular yet oddly cheerless experience. Read full review
40
Mr. ShowbizKevin Maynard
Game boys and girls will be disappointed by this fast-paced but shockingly dull adaptation.
30
SalonCharles Taylor
Such an inept bundle of work -- crying out for the filmmaking equivalent of Ritalin, but still sluggish as syrup -- that it doesn't even provide an opportunity to ogle properly. Read full review
30
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
Sitting through the lavish and dumb action spectacular Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is about as much fun as watching someone else play a video game. Read full review
30
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Slick-dick director Simon West, of "Con Air" and "The General's Daughter" infamy, continues to show no flair at all for blending action and character. Jolie and Lara deserved better. So did we. Read full review
30
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Has the distinction of being a major motion picture that's far less imaginative, and quite a bit more stupid, than the interactive game it's based on. Read full review
25
New York PostLou Lumenick
The effects are cheesy, the photography is murky, the sets look like leftovers from a Las Vegas stage spectacular -- and the flick appears to have been edited with a roulette wheel.
25
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
These are good moments, and there are a few others, that prevent Tomb Raider from being one of the worst films of the year. But they're not enough to make it worth seeing. Read full review
25
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
A staggeringly bad picture: a shallow, cliche-ridden mess that keeps blowing up on screen. Read full review
25
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
Since the expensive new movie version of the popular video game, Tomb Raider, is very true to its origins, it's a colossal bore. Read full review
20
Village VoiceMichael Atkinson
So pandering and pebble-brained you'd guess it had been test-screened on barnyard animals. Read full review
20
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Almost completely lacking in genuine thrills. Even the attractive presence of star Angelina Jolie can't keep this leaden, plodding, completely underwhelming film from playing like "Lara Croft: Yawn Inducer." Read full review
20
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Remarkably joyless, even though Ms. Jolie is a formidable presence with the potential for becoming a witty one.
10
Washington PostStephen Hunter
It is the perfect modern product: loud, banal, empty, frenzied, plasticized, flavorless, drab, violent in a bloodless way and sexy in a sexless way. Read full review
0
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
The game is great fun -- the movie ought to be taken out back and shot. Read full review
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