Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life
Short description
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life follows the archaeologist Lara Croft as she recovers a golden orb that points the way to Pandora's Box, a mythical object said to hold a deadly plague. When a Chinese criminal syndicate led by Chen Lo seizes the orb first, MI6 asks Lara to retrieve it before it can be used as a weapon. Her search takes her across several continents, from Greece and Hong Kong to Africa, and she is joined by Terry Sheridan, a former Marine turned mercenary. Behind the theft stands Jonathan Reiss, a wealthy scientist willing to sell the box's contents to the highest bidder, setting up a race to reach the artifact before he does.
The film is a sequel to Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and the fourth feature directed by Jan de Bont, following Speed, Twister, Speed 2: Cruise Control and The Haunting. Angelina Jolie returns as Lara, with Gerard Butler as Terry Sheridan and Ciarán Hinds as Reiss; Chris Barrie, Noah Taylor and Djimon Hounsou appear in supporting roles. Dean Georgaris wrote the screenplay, and Lawrence Gordon and Lloyd Levin produced. Made for about 95 million dollars, it took in roughly 160 million worldwide, a modest return against its cost.
On IMDb it holds 5.5 out of 10 from about 151,000 votes, and on TMDB 5.8 out of 10 from around 4,600 votes. A critics' rating of 4.7 out of 10 from 172 reviews places it below both audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film was banned in China for significantly damaging the country's reputation by depicting it in a state of complete chaos and overrun with numerous secret societies.
- Robson Green was considered for one of the roles in the film.
- The only actor or actress in the film born in America was Angelina Jolie herself.
- In one scene of the film, John Reis infects the passengers on his private plane with the deadly Ebola virus. Transparent capsules with black pills inside are shown as a vaccine-antidote, but in reality, it is a Chinese herbal homeopathic remedy taken for digestive upset.
- British actor Max Ryan auditioned for the role of Terry Sheridan.
- In the German version of the film, Til Schweiger dubbed himself in the role of Sean.
- Filming period: August 27, 2002 – March 19, 2003.
- One of the stunt doubles for Angelina Jolie was a man.
- When the film was released, Angelina Jolie publicly stated her unwillingness to return to this character for a third time. Despite this, some preparatory work by the studio continued and was only curtailed in early 2004 when it became definitively clear that the film had not met expectations.
- The scene in which Lara Croft and her partner jump from the top of a building wearing wingsuits was filmed using two stunt performers who were involved in the development of such suits. Everything was done without the use of CGI, safety ropes, safety nets, or any other specialized equipment typically used in such cases.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
