In Indiana Jones and...er...in Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, sexy adventurer Lara Croft sets out on a perilous journey to find the legendary
Pandora's Box, an artifact that, if opened could cause all kinds of nasty anarchy, especially if in the wrong hands.

As you may know, this is a follow up to the first Tomb Raider picture which was in fact inspired by a video game of the same name. As dumb and ridiculous as this sequel is (I knew I was in for a moronic ride the second Jolie sucker punches a shark early on in the movie), I enjoyed it much more than the original - thanks to a brisk flow and crisp action sequences courtesy of director Jan De Bont (Speed and Twister). The first Tomb Raider, by contrast, lacked any kind of cohesion - serving up one
muddled action sequence after another draining them of any potential excitement. Jan De Bont has made a couple of really bad movies (see Speed 2 and The Haunting), but he seems much more adept with this material than Simon West did (although I did enjoy West's Con Air).

Jolie seems much more comfortable this time out, and while that British accent sputters in and out, she brings energy and physicality to the role. Simply put, she's a sexy beast. The movie also has a romance, and while it's quite typical, I was surprised by the direction it took at the end of the movie.

I can honestly say that this Tomb Raider outing also has stunt sequences I've never seen before including a doozy in which Croft and her fearless
partner take a leap from a 100 story building and safely glide through the sky in special sky sailing suits. It has been reported that there are only ten people in the world who know how to use these suits, and De Bont and his team found two of them. The sequence really is breathtaking.

Jan De Bont's success still looks to be something of a fluke. Speed was great fun, but Twister was mediocre at best and Speed 2 and The Haunting were both disasters. While his take on Tomb Raider is by no means a return
to his glory days as a brilliant cinematographer, it is better than his last two directing efforts.

The Cradle of Life is derivative to be sure. It's an obvious Indiana Jones rip off and look even closer and you'll see a world of other movies as well, including Lord of the Rings, Congo (yuck!), and the works of John Woo. So why the hell am I saying anything good about it? Perhaps it's because I had zero expectations going in. Or perhaps it's just because I'm drawn to Jolie
in some weird way. Who knows. One thing's for sure, as dumb as this movie is, it sure beats the hell out of the first one. And for what it's worth,
I'll take this movie over Bad Boys 2 any day of the week and twice on Sunday.