FILM QUIZ: Name this film...
A famous archeologist sets out on a search for an ancient treasure which is simultaneously being sought by the terrorists of the time. This object is from a time before Christ and contains secrets which could alter the course of human existence. It's up to the sexy and likeable archeologist to retrieve the treasure before it falls into the wrong hands. Need one more hint? The adventurer is recruited by the government and accompanied by an old flame.

Tomb Raider 2: The Cradle of Life?

No, I'm sorry, the answer we were looking for was Raiders of the Lost Ark. The important item to note is that the hero was both "sexy" and "likeable." Lara Croft is very sexy, but has no charisma.

Despite being the best-looking action hero in years, Lara Croft is a totally uninspiring character and it thwarts the Tomb Raider franchise from living up to its potential. The main problem is: Lara Croft is just too cold. She makes her way through every encounter with the same expression, and is nothing but snide and ungrateful to those who help her. This would play just fine if she were in, say, Ghost World 2, but Tomb Raider 2 is supposed to be an action/adventure movie!

The film starts out just fine. A massive earthquake off the coast of Greece unearths the Lunar Temple of Alexander. Lara arrives in action-hero style and leads a team to the underwater temple. As with the first film, the scenery and set pieces are beautiful, and the soundtrack is thumping. Lara discovers a mysterious amber orb; but loses it when she and her team are suddenly ambushed.

It turns out the orb is a map to Pandora's Box: the one from Greek legend rumored to contain a massive plague. Biological weapons broker Jonathon Reiss will do anything he can to find this doomsday weapon and sell it to the highest bidder. To aid him in his quest, Reiss has recruited a notorious Chinese gang who are wickedly ruthless and hard to find.

Lara brings on board Terry Sheridan, a former lover and man of the world who claims he can locate the gang and help Lara retrieve the orb. In predictable fashion, Sheridan makes unsuccessful advances at Lara during which you can actually hear the movie grinding to a halt.

To its credit, Tomb Raider 2 looks less like a video game than its predecessor, but it's certainly not an improvement on the original. In the first film, every scene adhered to a specific style. In the second film, the movie begs borrows and steals from every action movie that ever turned a profit. There are absurd James Bond-style moments where Lara rides a motorcycle on the Great Wall of China, followed by wannabe Hong Kong action fights and there's even some CGI monsters! This movie is all over the place! The only thing that distinguishes this movie from any other is static, icey, Lara Croft. In a genre where points are given for originality, it would be nice to see Tomb Raider take some chances.

If the Tomb Raider franchise continues, one can only hope the producers will pick a director who did not inflict Speed 2 on the world and pick a screenwriter who does not have Judge Dredd on his resume. There's nothing wrong with the Tomb Raider premise or with Angelina Jolie. It's a great product, but it's unfortunately in the hands of people who lack creativity. One can only hope that next time (if there is one) the filmmakers will develop an original, memorable and likeable hero. Might I suggest Indiana Jones as a good place to start?

-Megan A. Denny