Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life

Off the coast of the volcanic island of Santorini, the intrepid archaeologist Lara Croft makes the unexpected discovery of a pulsating golden orb able to guide its holder to the mythical Pandora's Box. As the legendary artifact contains ancient mysteries of unfathomable power - said to contain one of the deadliest plagues on Earth, Lara is tasked by MI6 to make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands. With the aid of former Marine turned mercenary Terry Sheridan, she travels the world in pursuit of the precious item in a race against time; she must beat the unscrupulous Nobel Prize-winning scientist turned bioterrorist, Jonathan Reiss, to it.

Critics largely dismissed this sequel as a hollow action spectacle despite near-universal agreement that Angelina Jolie remains the film's one reliable asset. A vocal minority — including Roger Ebert — found it a genuine improvement on the first film, with pulpy adventure energy to match; the majority found the action sequences badly staged and the whole enterprise cheerfully brainless at best.