SPOILERS. TOMB RAIDER script review

Has there ever been a good movie based on a video game? Mortal Kombat? Stinker. Super Mario Brothers? Good lord, that movie stank. Tomb Raider? Potential, I guess, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

???? Why did your stupid fat ass think that such a lame concept for a game (with wretched control I might add be a good movie? YOU DUMB FUCK! OOOOHHH LET'S MAKE INDIANA JONES BUT MAKE THE CHARACTOR 1 DIMENSIONAL AND HAVE BIG TITS!!?!? STOP JERKING TO VIDEO GAMES HARRY! FUCKIN' MORON!

Tomb Raider could be the best of all the Computer Game adaptations - if the producers can actually be bothered to produce a decent film, rather than just cash in on an in built audience. Both Tomb Raider games were massive hits - certainly the first one deserved the praise due to the attention applied to the central character, and to the world she inhabits - the second was a straight re-run of the original, another typical cash-in. The movie will hang on whether the producers are looking to make some entertainment for their audience, or some hard cash for their investors. From what I have read of the script from above, it sounds at though they are heading down the cash-in path with glee. So it looks as though next summer will be devoid of any blockbusting movies about which anyone has given a fuck. It pisses me off to see a great entertainment medium being used to fleece us cinema devotees of our cash and give us an ill-thoughtout, poorly scripted, illogical lump of noisy shite. 1998 has produced the plotless Lost in Space, the painful Avengers (which could have been so good), Godzilla (?), Armageddon (hmm..) and Lethal Weapon 4 (at last a decent popcorn movie.) Why? All the talent in Lost in Space and Avengers was totally wasted. There is something seriously wrong here. The abandonment of story is the fundamental flaw in current movie making, this should be the core on which everything else hangs. A good script + a good story = good movie (or at least half of the trip.) Why are film companies forgetting this? Tomb Raider will be a hit, probably a blockbuster, simply because of its name. It could be a very good movie, if a decent script could be written. There are the stories and scripts out there, if only they would look. S.

First off, while it may not be apparent to a baboon at a keyboard, Harry didn't write that script review. So instead of wasting everyone's time with your asinine, childish comments, why don't you go and pick the lice out of your hair, you god damn primate. Secondly, Tomb Raider has an incredible amount of potential to have not only a good story, but an interesting main character. Sadly, however, Hollywood seems to have it's mind set on getting the girl with the biggest tits into a pair of khaki shorts so a bunch of geeky 14 year olds can beat off in the back of a dark theatre. So clear off a space on the shelf next to Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, looks like it has company.

It seems to me that studio execs don't even take time to read the scripts they 'green-light' anymore. They just phone it into their kids at home. {{EXEC ON PHONE- Joey, do you think it would be good if Daddy made a movie based on Tomb Raider? JOEY- Yeah, that'd be awesome! MOM IN BACKGROUND ON PHONE- Joey, do you want beans and weenies for dinner? JOEY- Yeah mom, that'd be awesome! (The sky gets cloudy and rain starts to fall) JOEY- Look! A storm! Awesome! }}The point? Tons of really bad decisions becoming really bad movies. Some are forgivable. I actually liked Godzilla. I liked the X-Files movie... but making a movie based on a video game without at least tipping the hat to its fans is not wise. Stealing concepts outright from the legendary Jones canon is worse... I'm not looking forward to this.

To Dw Dunphy - no, the studio execs who greenlighted this one didn't read the script before they gave the go ahead. I'm guessing that somebody pitched the idea for the film before there was a script. This genius points to the video game sales, and the script gets greenlighted. Then, they hire the 2nd rate screenwriter to put out the script. They don't care, if it's good - they're just concerned with grosses. The best thing we can do is cease going to see these films. Our dollars have voices in reality, we can only voice our opinions in the limited confined of cyberspace. That's what I love about this site - with all the reviews that Harry gets, I can gain a better perspective on whether to spend my hardly earned dollars on a film. Maybe if the rest of you would stop running off to see every peice of shit film with halfway decent special effects, the suits in Hollywood would start to respect our intelligence. Shit, you can always wait for video or cable.

Not long ago there was a poll here that asked all of you (AICN readers) where new movies should come from. The response was overwhelmingly "from original scripts" as opposed to adaptations, old TV shows, etc. A movie that's a ripoff of a game that's a ripoff of a movie that's a ripoff of old movie serials can do nothing but suck and suck HARD. Just my O.

Correct me if I am wrong but Harry just cut'n'pasted this from Cinescape Online. Now I'm not against sites helping each other out but stealing without credit ... well ... it's just not cricket. So next time Harry - look before you leap.

I think Jennifer Lopez would rock as Lara Croft. Anyone else agree?

If you want to see a DECENT Tomb Raider script, or at least the barest beginnings of one, I heartily recommend swinging by Corona's Coming Attractions page and hunting down the link for Gary Whitta's script. It's only partially done but sounds way better than the other one. But don't worry, if there WAS anything good about Paramount's script it'll be chopped out in the end, I have much faith in this process after the whole Avengers fiasco.

(I think that picture of Harry just winked at me...anyway, getting back on the subject...) I think the perfect Lara Croft would be ELIZABETH HURLEY. Beautiful, can act, has great comedic timing (for delivering those one-liners)and a lovely british accent. I would also like to add that ANY MOVIE CAN BE A GOOD MOVIE WHEN THERE IS A GOOD SCRIPT INVOLVED.

Jennifer Lopez -- I know someone mentioned Anaconda, but be're not playing word association here.

Um, I don't know, but I think you forgot something in the statement that 1999 will be filled with blockbusters no one cares about... STAR WARS?!?!?!?!?!? Think before you write, please.

I don't know about Tomb Raider, I never really got into the game that much to tell you the truth. However, I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing to make movies out of certain types of games. I think computer games would be the best choice, because the tend to have more involving stories and center less around twitch reflexes, or even if they do, they still feel compelled to include somesort of story. There are some video games which also have this, but I think it's more common in computer games. As an example, one movie I have some hopes (not too high) for would be WIng Commander. I always likedthe simple but effective stories behind those, and I hope with Chris Roberts at the helm, it will come out well (although I know they'll probably make it complete crap). However, there are games I think would make great movies. One is the Gabriel Knight series. These are great mystery stories that would stand up very well as movies. If we could see a well done version of these, they'd have my money. Just my thoughts.

Elizibeth Hurley has already been asked to do the film and she has agreed. I think she will do a great job, she has the pefect body for the part.

I love Tomb Raider, both for its Indiana Jone type situations, and for its beautiful dreamy heroine. Please please please I hope they cast Hurley! That would be the greatest! As for copying Raiders, at least they are copying something cool!

ELIZABETH HURLEY=LARA CROFT!!!!

Pretty stupid ploy eh? Well, let me first say this, Courtney Cox, Jennifer Lopez and Sandra Bullock as Lara...no! That's like casting Arnold for Mr. Freez...never mind. Two words: Elizabeth Hurley. Number 1: she's ENGLISH!!!!! Lara's ENGLISH!!!!! nuff said. Number 2: They look very, very similar!!!! And #3: They both have amazing sex appeal!! Now, Let's look at past video game movies: Mario Bros...no,Double Dragon...no, Street Fighter...no. Now Mortal Kombat was the only really good Video game movie. Yes it was cheezy but it was really fun. Now why writers can't stick to actual character backrounds, I don't know but they sure as hell better make it good. And from what I read, it looks pretty shitty. I'll leave it at, make a video game movie for the people not for the money!!!!!!

Personally I'd love to see Tomb Raider get off the ground. The potential is, as they say, Harry-sized! Though, it must be noted (obviously) that video-game adaptations, like video games themselves, have thus far been LCD (lowest common-denominator) dribble, lacking in story, character, and backbone. With a game, this is quite OK as the user provides the interaction that makes the game fun. However, in a feature film THERE MUST BE CHARACTER, MOTIVATION, AND SIGNIFICANT **HUMAN** GROWTH. This fact, along with many common sense truths, has eluded today's Hollywood Hardheads. And their ignorance is so frighteningly fucking consistent. I have convinced myself, in a last ditch attempt to save my sanity, that the major studios MUST have instituted a new policy by which they refuse to interview any candidates for mid-level executive positions UNLESS they have a doctor's note explaining that they've recently awoken from a +3 year coma brought on my major head, neck, or spinal trauma. Special consideration is given to those with head trauma. Anyway, back to Tomb Raider... I do think that Paramount might be the one studio (Dreamworks?) with the balls to allow a Tomb Raider storyline to form organically, without calling in 5 or 10 script-doctors to homogenize the work so it's perfectly suited for a Burger King cross-over promotion. Unfortunately, when the suits panic they think in terms of happy meals... In my opinion, the picture can work, should these two gems of advice be heeded. 1. Dump the "Baywatchy" current draft, and bring in ONE writer and ONE director whose work has historically been CHARACTER DRIVEN , and let them start fresh, and truly CREATE. For a movie like this [ie, based on a 2D CG character] to be successful, a fleshy 3D character MUST be developed. I'd love to see Zemeckis reteam with Eric Roth and take a shot at Lara! At the very least we won't suffer through gratuitious FX shots. 2. Select an ACTRESS, not a fucking Barbie Doll to play the part. This means abandoning the idea of Lara as 95 lb. vixen with a chest of 44DD. Who would I cast? I salivate at the idea of JULIA ORMOND with this role. Assuming she's still alive. Anyone know where she's been lately? That's what i would like to see done with this damm interesting property. However, this is all wasted breath. The sad truth is that Post-New-Hollywood Hollywood is simply incapable of delivering the goods. They've proven it. The days of milk and honey are long gone. Our fates rest alone in the Miramaxs' of the world. Doh! Mickey's got his paws on EVERYTHING!

Well, what a surprise - the Tomb Raider script is a stinker! What did you expect from the guy who wrote "American Cyborg: Steel Warrior"? The ridiculous thing is, Tomb Raider COULD be a cool movie, as demonstrated by the much cooler "unofficial" and unfinished screenplay that's been hanging around on the web for ages. Check it out at http://www.ctimes.net/fancorner/fanfic/story_script.htm and see for yourself. It's pretty cool and really does Lara's character justice. I think it was written by the guy who edits PC Gamer magazine, so at least he knows something about computer games!

Zak and Jerry are right - the unofficial fan-fiction script going around on the web is much better than Friedman's piece of shit sounds. Totally on the money in terms of Lara's character and filled with slam-bang action! You can find it on Corona's site, also at The Croft Times, Drew's Script-o-Rama and on PC Gamer's web site (http://pcgamer.ign.com). It was written by the editor-in-chief Gary Whitta. I sent him an e-mail a while ago right after I read it to tell him I thought it was cool and asked him if this was the one Paramount was using. He said no, he just wrote it for fun. Well all I can say is, Paramount could do a lot worse than check out Whitta's script because it was obviously written by someone who "gets" the whole idea of Tomb Raider. I'm a fan of the game and want to see a cool movie, not another Street Fighter disaster! Wake up Paramount!

I've been reading this Tomb Raider discussion thread with interest, and wanted to post something to say thanks to the AICN readers who wrote in with kind words about my little "fan-fiction" screenplay. Unfortunately I never had the time to finish the second half of the script... but maybe I should because I have an e-mail folder filled with over FIVE THOUSAND messages from people who read it, liked it and want me to finish it. All very unexpected, and all very, very flattering. So thanks to everyone who had nice things to say, and if you haven't read my Tomb Raider script, check it out! It's cool! Gary Whitta Editor-in-Chief PC Gamer "The World's Best-Selling PC Games Magazine"

Wow, that sounds like an amazing script and plot! It closely follows the game in everyway! This is the first movie plot that follows the game exactly! I cant believed you dissed it like that! I think all fans of Tomb Raider will be pleased with this script!

Well, Eidos, the company that made her is picky. They have been careful in the past about releasing useless crap, turning down such offers as lunchboxes and underwear. I don't think that they'd be happy about a pointless movie plot, so... Oh yeah, I say Posh Spice for Lara. If they're gonna have a cheezy script, why not compliment it with horrid acting?

Nah, definitely not Julia Ormond. The most acting she can do is this weird canine puzzled-face. Watch "Legends of the Fall", you'll see what I mean. "Ruh-roh, Ristran!" Whoever it was that suggested Kate Winslet has a good idea, though. I hate to break it to some of you drooling adolescents out there, but a woman with Lara's bust and hip proportions would also be pretty curvy in the belly and thighs. Kate Winslet has just such a figure -- curvacious but attractive -- and best of all, she's actually English. I disagree that Tomb Raider solely appeals to masturbatory preadolescent boys. Although I'm sure that a lot of TR fans fit that description pretty well, there are those of us out there who are less concerned with Lara's measurements than we are with the fact that Miss Croft is a strong female action character in a largely male-oriented genre of games. For Chrissakes -- I'm a girl, I play computer games, I want to blow shit up, kill baddies, and maybe solve a few puzzles, not play "Barbie Magic Nails" or whatever. Lara is a girl gamer's dream come true -- instead of a James Bond bimbo in latex clumsily wielding a gun she probably doesn't know how to use, Lara is a tough chica packing two hands of heat and a determined attitude. I hope to God that the script is rescued from the hands of that ham-handed hack who penned the execrable "Event Horizon", which was possibly the worst movie I've ever seen. C'mon Hollywood -- prove to us cynics that you're capable of producing an intelligent action flick, that there's more substance to you than smoke, glitz, and mirrors. Make an intelligent Tomb Raider movie that's true to the spirit of the game, and to Lara Croft herself.

I mean, the game was pretty dry and driven solely on hormones to begin with. Neither the original nor the sequel had a credible or even interesting plot, and the only thing that most players found interesting about Lara was her body. Don't expect this game to have an innovative and creative movie if it was cheese to begin with!

I don't think people should come down so hard on the video games to movies concept just because all previous attempts have failed (or at the best, been adequate), the problem is the makers of these films have no respect whatsoever for the source material and screw it up big time. The next problem is they are choosing the WRONG GAMES to make movies, Doom? Duke Nukem? hoose a game with a STORY and not some simple shoot'em up (what's Duke without his lines from movies that are already out? If I wanted to hear them in a movie, I'd pop in my DVD of They Live or Army of Darkness). Make GOOD games into movies: Metroid, Starfox, Battletoads (well, maybe not, but I always liked that game...) and what is probably the greatest video game series of all time- The Legend of Zelda! (if anyone at nintendo reads this [doubtfull] PLEASE make Zelda! PLEASE!). Q3

Hey geeks, reality check please. This movie is based on a computer game. Stop calling for a great script, your not going to get it. Good screen-writers aren't going to piss around wasting there talents on a computer game adaption, they all have loftier ideals. The most we can hope for from Tomb Raider is a hot baby in skimpy outfits, kicking butt in over-the-top action sequences. Cool I say. They not chasing awards with this, its going to be a pure no-brainer. And another reality check, they not going to get an actress of the statue of Kate Winslett or Nicole Kidman (or even Jennifer Lopez and Elizabeth Hurley) to star in the thing. I think we are more likely to get a bimbo such as Pamela Lee or Jenny Mcarthy starring. Then again they did get Uma Thurman AND Ralph Fiennes to star in The Avengers so strange things DO happen.

How about the actress from ZORRO - Catherine Zeta Jones for Lara?

The last few years have seen a plethora of ill-thought, possible franchise movies being released, and all have tanked. The greatest characters from comics, classic TV, and now games are being prostituted by execs who don't care about the source or the fans, but see it as a way to make a fast first week buck. What upsets me, is that the source plays along, like a donkey being led by a carrot. With Tomb Raider, of all the people to hook up with, why has someone entrusted the guy who wrote MK: Anhialation as the person who should guide Lara's movie adventures. I've seen the new Tomb Raider game, and whoever thought up the story for that, although clich

What a lot of gossip this news letter has created. Wow, hopefully the Producers of Tomb Raider are reading this.... Sorry, back from dreamland. Would any producer who has got their paws on a licence to print money actually listen to their desired audience? nah, didn't think so. There have been a number of calls for the producers to read some of the fan fiction that is doing the rounds. I agree, some of it is of a very high standard indeed. Gary Whitta in particular has been singled out - and it is a good script character wise, though does need some tightening in the plot department. I would strongly suggest that Friedman has a good long read at the fan fiction, before commiting pen to paper again. Here's a thought. Why does the film have to cover the ground already gone over in the game? by this I mean the whole Lara's background thing (aircrash in Himalayas, antagonism with parents etc etc.) This film is primarily going to appeal to the 12 - 25 age group (primarily male also, sorry girls). This demographic is also the primary users of Playstations / PCs etc. therefore the main target audience already has a working knowledge of the subject matter / main character / what to expect. Therefore is it really necessary to repeat the story with which your audience is already well aquainted? Remember you only have 120 pages to tell your story in (if you are a script writer), so re-telling the background story when it is not necessary,is a waste of screen time. What about those who don't know Lara's background? I hear you cry. Okay then, what did you know about Indiana Jones when you saw Raiders for the first time? He was just a bloke in a hat. Who was that bloke in black with breathing difficulties, at the start of Star Wars? What the hell was that in the crate at the start of Jurassic Park? Get the point. the film can be engineered to appeal to those who have a good knowledge of the games, and also to those who have none. I went to see X-Files: Fight the Future with my friend Lindy - a genuine X-Phile. I know very little about the X-Files, but still enjoyed the film. Lindy loved it - unsurprisingly - but was also chuckling at a number of moments that I didn't find funny. Welcome to the world of the in-joke; a snippet or reference to something that the existing fans will understand, but will pass unnoticed by the general audience. this enables the film to be enjoyed by all members of th audience without patronising any of them. Anyway, enough of this weeks rant. here are a couple of replies to those who have mentioned me directly in the above messages. Whatever - wow Star Wars part One is being released next summer. with the gripping title - The Phantom Menace. Sends shivers down my spine that! I don't suppose that this will be hyped in anyway to push it to the masses. I don't think we will see the McDonalds tie-in Happy meal, or the acres of toys in your local superstore, all of which pays millions of dollars into LucasFilm. Nah, of course not. Now, supposedly Lucas wrote this story in 1970 something, with all the other Star Wars films, but decided to make the middle three first. Hmm. If that was the case, why wait until 27 years later to produce the next three films? You cannot tell me that Fox would have a problem with bankrolling another 3 in the early eighties? So why wait? I love Star Wars, though over recent years I have been less than impressed with the quality of the spin-off merchandise. Since X-Wing was released on the PC in 93 (or was it 92), there has been a general slide in quality of the spin offs (Tie Fighter excepted). You only have to look at Supremacy and X-wing Vs Tie Fighter to see how far the standards have slipped. But all of the above have been massive hits - due to the Star Wars branding. I wait hopefully for a worthy prequel to Star Wars, but I fear another money making cash in. We'll see. Mr Kearns - I would like to believe that Eidos would have a say in the final script of the film of their game, but I am not so sure. My reasoning for this is grounded in the reasons as to why Sony's Columbia Studios did not get first refusal on the Tomb Raider licence. It could just boil down to more money being offered to Eidos from the producing team. It may also be the Producing team bought the rights to the character early on. I find it hard to believe that Sony, whose company was saved by its Playstation - and the Playstation's most marketable character is Lara Croft - would let the chance to make a big hit for Sony pictures (Columbia) on the silver screen. Which brings us to the question of rights. If the rights as bought by the producing team / studio includes the clause that the original producers (i.e. Core Designs / Toby Gard / Eidos) of the game have the final say over the script, then we can all breathe easy, as Eidos et al. have been very defensive of their product. To have this clause in a movie contract is very very rare however. It is more likely that the film makers have licenced the appearence of the character to appear in their film. In other words, they have the right to use the name Lara croft, Tomb raider and Lara's physical appearance in a film of their own making. Aha. This is what allowed Tim burton to redesign Batman, but prevented Alexander Salkind from redesigning the Superman movies. How Street Fighter got turned entirely on its head, but the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came through unscathed. it all depends on whether money talked loudly enough to Eidos. And there has to have been a lot of money involved in the deal as Sony did not get the rights - and they would have bid hard for them. See ya soon. S.

face it if lara gets her tits out no one will give a shit about the script

Personally, I've long thought that Denise Richards (Wild Things, Starship Troopers) would be a great Lara. The Resident Evil movie is sounding like a much better form of entertainment. I hope Romero does it up right.

I'm losing sleep over the whole Tomb Raider fiasco, but I refuse to just sit back and see TR turned into another Mario Brothers, Street fighter or Double Dragon. I'm in the process of finishing my first feature film, and one of my dreams was to be established in the biz in time to help bring Lara to the screen. My writing partner and I wrote the first fifteen pages of a TR script and a treatment, and through our managers, we were able to submit our material to Lloyd Levine, head of production of TR project at Paramount. I was told Mr. Levine read our material and said there were a lot of great ideas there, but that two "established" writers had already been hired and to consider a third was "unorthodox." When I found out who the "established" writers were, my heart sunk. After I read Harry's script review, I decided to try one more thing; I had my manager contact James Cornwall, Ceo of Eidos and executive producer with script approoval, and submitted our material directly to his office in the UK. I'm currently waiting for his feedback. I have read the unfinished script by the editor of PC Gamer, and it definitely shows promise, but I felt it lacked the snap and hipness of, say, an Indiana Jones or Bond film. I think fans want a fun movie experience that captures the essece of the game in an original and compelling way. Something fresh and exciting. However, I must admit that the script written by the editor of PC Gamer sounds a hell of a lot better than Mr. Friedman's concoction. I think this suggests that perhaps Hollywood should start to look elsewhere. And one final thought: let's not allow somebody like Anna Nicole Smith to play Lara! This is a billion dollar franchise, let's not screw it up. Give the movie the budget it deserves, and a lead actress that could do Lara justice (Liz Hurley or Catherine Zeta-Jones are my favorite candidates). Do it right or not at all!

Can anyone confirm the rumours, that Luc Besson is going to direct "Tomb Raider: The adventures of Lara Croft", starring Demi Moore as Lara...?