Let’s be real for a second. Before 2001, video game movies were basically a punchline. You had the Super Mario Bros. fever dream and a Street Fighter movie that even Jean-Claude Van Damme couldn't save from mediocrity. Then came the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider movie with Angelina Jolie, and suddenly, the industry realized that if you put a legitimate A-list talent in a tank top and gave her two silver pistols, people would actually show up to the theater.
It was a gamble. Honestly, a massive one.
At the time, Jolie was coming off an Oscar win for Girl, Interrupted. She wasn't an action star. She was the "serious" indie actress with a bit of a wild reputation. When Paramount announced her as Lara Croft, fans of the PlayStation game were skeptical. Could she handle the physical demands? Would the accent sound like a caricature? It turns out, Jolie didn't just play Lara Croft; she sort of became her for an entire generation.
The casting that changed everything
Casting is everything. If you get it wrong, the movie dies before the first trailer hits.
Simon West, the director who had already given us Con Air, knew he needed someone who carried a specific kind of "dangerous" energy. Lara Croft wasn't just a British archaeologist; she was an icon of 90s cool—sophisticated, athletic, and slightly detached.
Jolie underwent an insane training regimen to get into "Lara shape." We're talking kickboxing, street fighting, and diving. She famously did many of her own stunts, including that bungee-ballet scene in the Croft Manor. That wasn't just movie magic; that was Jolie hanging from wires, risking a neck injury to make sure the movement felt fluid and authentic to the character's gymnastic roots in the games.
It worked.
The movie pulled in over $270 million worldwide. For 2001, those were massive numbers. It held the record for the highest-grossing film featuring a female lead in an action role for years. People didn't go to see a "video game movie." They went to see Angelina.
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What most people get wrong about the plot
Critics at the time hated it. Like, really hated it. Roger Ebert gave it a middling review, complaining that the plot was basically just a series of locations strung together. And yeah, he wasn't entirely wrong. The search for the two halves of the "Triangle of Light" during a planetary alignment is classic MacGuffin storytelling. It’s thin.
But here’s the thing: the plot wasn't the point.
The Lara Croft: Tomb Raider movie with Angelina Jolie was a vibe-check. It was about the aesthetic. The humid jungles of Cambodia. The icy desolate landscapes of Siberia. The sleek, high-tech interior of the manor. It captured the feeling of playing the game—that sense of being a lone operator in a world that wants to kill you.
Also, can we talk about Daniel Craig?
Before he was 007, he was Alex West, the rival tomb raider and Lara’s sort-of love interest. Looking back now, his chemistry with Jolie is one of the best parts of the film. It’s playful, cynical, and surprisingly grounded for a movie that features a giant multi-armed stone statue coming to life.
The Cambodia Connection
One of the most lasting legacies of this film has nothing to do with Hollywood.
While filming at Ta Prohm in Cambodia, Jolie fell in love with the country. This wasn't just some PR stunt. She ended up adopting her first son, Maddox, from Cambodia and became deeply involved in international conservation and refugee work. You can literally trace her entire humanitarian career back to the weeks she spent filming Lara Croft among the banyan trees.
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Ta Prohm is now often referred to by locals and tourists alike as the "Tomb Raider Temple." It’s a rare instance where a popcorn flick actually altered the cultural footprint of a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Why the sequels and reboots struggle to compete
In 2003, we got The Cradle of Life. It was... fine. It had more gadgets and a weird shark-punching scene, but it lacked the raw novelty of the first one.
Then came the 2018 reboot with Alicia Vikander.
Vikander is a phenomenal actress. Her version of Lara was grittier, more vulnerable, and based on the "Survivor" era of the games. It was a "better" movie by technical standards. But it didn't have the same cultural impact. Why? Because Jolie’s Lara was a superhero.
In the early 2000s, we didn't want "vulnerable." We wanted a woman who could outsmart a secret society, drive a Land Rover through a stone wall, and look immaculate while doing it. Jolie provided a power fantasy that was untouchable.
Technical details and the 2026 perspective
If you watch the movie today on a 4K OLED screen, the CGI hasn't aged perfectly. The planetary alignment sequence looks a bit "early digital." However, the practical sets are still incredible. They built huge portions of the Cambodian ruins on soundstages at Pinewood Studios to ensure the lighting was perfect.
The sound design, too, was top-tier. The heavy "clack" of Lara’s pistols and the industrial soundtrack featuring U2 and The Chemical Brothers defined the "techno-archaeology" aesthetic of the era.
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Nuance in the performance
Jolie played Lara with a certain stillness.
She didn't overact. She used her eyes to convey boredom or amusement while being shot at. That’s hard to do. Many actors try to make action heroes "relatable" by making them crack jokes or show fear. Jolie went the opposite way. She made Lara an enigma. That mystery is exactly what kept the character interesting throughout the 100-minute runtime.
How to revisit the franchise today
If you're looking to scratch that nostalgia itch or if you’re a younger fan who only knows the recent games, there’s a specific way to appreciate this era of the franchise.
- Watch the 4K Remaster: The grain of the 35mm film looks beautiful in high definition. It captures the textures of the leather and the stone in a way that digital cameras often miss.
- Check the Behind-the-Scenes: Specifically, look for the footage of the bungee training. It gives you a real appreciation for the physical toll the role took on Jolie.
- Play the Remastered Games: Aspyr recently released the Tomb Raider I-III Remastered collection. Playing the original levels while keeping the movie's visuals in mind shows just how much the production designers got right.
The Lara Croft: Tomb Raider movie with Angelina Jolie isn't a masterpiece of cinema. It’s not The Godfather. But it is a masterpiece of branding and star power. It proved that video games could be "cool" to a mainstream audience. It cemented Angelina Jolie as the biggest female star on the planet. And honestly? It’s still a hell of a lot of fun to watch on a Friday night.
To truly understand the evolution of the character, you have to look at the transition from the 2001 film's "invincible" Lara to the modern "survivor" Lara. The contrast highlights how our cultural expectations of female protagonists have shifted from untouchable icons to characters who bleed, fail, and grow.
Start by re-watching the original 2001 film, then jump immediately into the 2018 version. The difference in tone is jarring, but it's the best way to see how the industry's approach to "strong female leads" has matured over two decades. Following this up with a playthrough of the Shadow of the Tomb Raider game provides the full arc of the character's journey from a 16-bit sprite to a cinematic legend.