From Console to Screen | Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) | Polygon to Powerhouse

The early 2000s were a strange and glorious time. Nu-metal on the radio, sunglasses indoors, and a firm belief that video game movies could totally work… if you just cast the right action star. Enter Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), starring none other than Angelina Jolie.

In this latest episode of From Console to Screen, we team back up with our resident video game movie enthusiast, Russ Lyman, to explore this globe-trotting, artifact-chasing, slow-motion-filled adaptation of one of gaming’s most iconic characters.

Let’s get this out of the way: Is Tomb Raider a good movie? That’s debatable. Is it a fascinating time capsule of post-Matrix, pre-MCU action cinema trying really hard to be cool? Absolutely.

We talk all about:

• Angelina Jolie’s surprisingly committed performance (and that accent).

• Whether the film captures the spirit of the original Tomb Raider games or just the aesthetic.

• The weirdly stacked supporting cast, including Daniel Craig (with an American accent), Iain Glen, and even Jon Voight.

• The action sequences that feel lifted straight from a cutscene and not in a good way.

More importantly, we ask: What is it about video game movies from this era that made them feel so… off? There’s money on the screen, star power in the frame, and yet somehow, we’re still left with an experience that feels less like an adventure and more like we hit “skip cutscene” on the plot.

So, does Lara Croft: Tomb Raider succeed where other game-to-screen adaptations fail? Or is it just another artifact better left buried in the early 2000s?

Jump into the episode and find out. Available now on YouTube!

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