Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life

Cradle of Life is quite theologically challenged, as are most modern movies. Lara Croft goes off in search of “Pandora’s Box” (where Croft contends all life began) in order to keep it from falling into the wrong hands. Supposedly the box now only has “death” inside of it instead of “life,” which leaves the viewer wondering throughout the whole film where all the “life-giving” material/powers went and where the “death-giving” material/powers came from.

The movie clearly supports an evolutionary worldview and several of the main characters (including Croft) have a rather disturbing disregard for death. The movie has some scenes of rather gruesome violence/death, especially near the beginning. Croft seems undaunted by her brushes with death and actually seems to get a major thrill from the action. This is a bit confusing because Croft is supposed to be fighting for life/humanity, but actually SMILES as she kills the enemy.

In terms of picture quality, the final scenes of the movie are very disappointing, although the high-tech equipment Croft uses is somewhat impressive. The ending is very anti-climatic and predictable, with no major twists in plot. The basic plot line is laid out within the first forty-five minutes of the movie.

A major theme of the movie is portraying Croft as the epitome of “cool.” Her persona is one of someone who believes that she knows everything. Croft has complete control of her world, and most of the rest of the world around her.

In one of the few sexual scenes, Croft shows that she is willing to sacrifice her body for the sake of the mission. There are no actual scenes of true nudity, but plenty of implied sexuality that is inappropriate for children.

In sum, “Cradle of Life” is a rather shallow movie in terms of plot and is really quite predictable. The lack of character development, etc. suggests that the movie is targeted towards a young audience, but the movie is NOT appropriate for young children. There is a good amount of violence and sexuality, and Croft’s attitude is disturbing. If I took my child to see this movie, I would feel embarrassed for exposing them to several scenes and would regret having taken them for those reasons. I would also have to explain to them why the evolutionary plot lines/worldviews are false and would have to explain the moral issues I would have with the movie.

Older teenagers should be in less danger from this movie, because they have a more mature worldview and can more easily distinguish between the falsehoods and moral issues within the film.

Violence: Moderate | Profanity: Moderate | Sex/Nudity: Moderate

• Positive
• Neutral
• Young people
• Critics