Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life is set to air on BBC3 tonight, more than two decades after its release, and viewers remain divided over whether the 2003 sequel lives up to the original film.
The action thriller, inspired by the Tomb Raider video game franchise from Core Design, sees Angelina Jolie reprise her role as Lara Croft. This time, her character takes on a mission on a Greek island, tasked with recovering the legendary Pandora's box after a powerful earthquake revealed the Luna Temple.
Star-Studded Cast and Mixed Reviews
Jolie is joined on screen by Gerard Butler, Ciarán Hinds, Chris Barrie, Noah Taylor, Til Schweiger, Djimon Hounsou, and Simon Yam. It was Jolie's on-screen chemistry with Butler that drew numerous favourable reviews for the follow-up.
One review on Rotten Tomatoes reads: "A polished B-movie, perfect for exercising. The 4K presentation and high production values made it enjoyable, and the special effects still look impressive more than two decades later."
Another viewer added: "The Cradle of Life has long been labelled a failure, but that reputation feels harsher than the film deserves. While the screenplay has structural issues and uneven dialogue, the movie succeeds where it matters most: delivering a confident, globe-trotting action adventure led by an undeniable star performance."
Angelina Jolie fully owns the role of Lara Croft, bringing physicality, charisma, and authority that make the character feel authentic rather than gimmicky.
Criticism and Box Office Performance
Others, however, argue the sequel fell short of following up what was a landmark female-led action picture. One disappointed viewer said: "This movie sucked horribly; it had some good special effects and Angelina in her prime to look at( but that's it)."
Another unimpressed viewer stated: "The plot is forgettable despite Angelina Jolie and Gerald Butler having good chemistry." One person even said: "It does improve itself over the first one but it still fails short in every way possible."
The film struggled at the box office, taking $160.1 million compared with the original Tomb Raider's $275 million. Nevertheless, numerous critics maintained it surpassed the original in terms of action sequences and Jolie's commanding performance.
Legacy and Broadcast Details
The original film had hit cinemas two years earlier, yet after this sequel's debut, Jolie's involvement in the franchise drew to a close before the story was revived in 2018. That instalment, titled Tomb Raider, starred Geneva Robertson-Dworet as Lara Croft and went on to match the box office takings of the 2001 release, though it appears to have left a lesser mark on popular culture.
For those yet to catch it, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life is due to be broadcast on BBC3 tonight, Thursday October 5, at 8:15pm.
