for
12/9/2000
I've just viewed the movie trailer for the upcoming Paramount Pictures release of Tomb Raider....
This film version is based on the video game series of the same name, which was, itself, based upon the three Indiana Jones movies, created by George Lucas. Main character Lara Croft is a thinly-veiled female version of Indiana, stripped of the final trace references to actual archaeology.
I might mention that I have a lot of respect for George Lucas as a creative individual. He is a particular sort, however--less a fiery creative force than a walking encyclopedia of film, able to cobble together ideas, images and sequences from the world of film into something that goes well beyond the sum of its parts. Indeed, the Internet Movie Database...
...lists Star Wars as referencing Triumph des Willens (1934), Wizard of Oz, The (1939), Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940), Dam Busters, The (1954), Searchers, The (1956), Kakushi toride no san akunin (1958), 7th Voyage of Sinbad, The (1958), Uchu daisenso (1959), Yojimbo (1961), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Hsia nu (1969), THX 1138 (1970)--and this is only a partial list.
I venerate Lucas merely to soften the blow when I reveal that the Indiana Jones series was not, in fact, an original concept by a long shot. Rather it was a rehash of the Republic Pictures serials that used to play in theatres when Lucas was a boy.
Tomb Raider is thus, by very direct lineage, a copy of a copy, of a copy.
According to the trailer, the visual look of the film (specifically in the fight sequences) is a very direct rip-off of The Matrix. We have just pulled the pin from a shrapnel grenade as far as The Matrix and copies go, but let me make a clarification:
Specifically, they've copied the effects work done by Manex Visual Effects (MVFX), who designed the majority of the slow-motion/composite effects for both The Matrix and the promising Ang Lee feature Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon....
The cable battling seen in Tomb Raider also bears an eerie resemblance to the on-set work done in Crouching Tiger, only with the cables left in intentionally, rather than digitally removed (clips of this production work can also be found on the Crouching Tiger web site).
Getting back to The Matrix and it's sleighfull of thinly-veiled cribs, I'll simply mention the thematically similar, though much more highly recommended David Cronenberg film eXistenZ (notably missing from the following list), and reprint the entire IMDB list of references:
Alice in Wonderland (1933), Wizard of Oz, The (1939), Rashomon (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), High Noon (1952), Man Who Knew Too Much, The (1956), Vertigo (1958), "Doctor Who" (1963), Fahrenheit 451 (1966), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), C'era una volta il West (1969), Enter the Dragon (1973), Welt am Draht (1974) (TV), Star Wars (1977), Superman (1978), Zui quan (1979), Saturn 3 (1980), Heavy Metal (1981), Blue Thunder (1983), Terminator, The (1984), Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), Brazil (1985), Trancers (1985), "Red Dwarf" (1988)...
Akira (1988), Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989), Total Recall (1990), Wong Fei-hung (1991), Point Break (1991), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Far and Away (1992), "X-Men" (1992), Lashou shentan (1992), Little Buddha (1993), Fong Shi Yu II: Wan fu mo di (1993), Jing wu ying xiong (1994), Speed (1994), True Lies (1994), Kokaku kidotai (1995), Johnny Mnemonic (1995), Cité des enfants perdus, La (1995), Twelve Monkeys (1995), Waterworld (1995), Desperado (1995), Abre los ojos (1997), Men in Black (1997), Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998), Blade (1998), Dark City (1998)
So basically, Tomb Raider would seem to be a sort of Sunday stew of moviedom--big chunks of everything we've seen before, allowed to simmer until the budget runs out, put into smaller bowls when the studio decides it's still too character-oriented and cuts most of the dialogue, and finally served to us, the moviegoing public, cold.
No, it's not as bad as all that. In fairness, the production is directed by Simon West, who made an excellent movie in Con-Air, and did a decent job on The General's Daughter.
It should also be said that it's probably true that there's really nothing new under the sun. The Republic serials were based on the exploits of early archaeologists, like Henry Layard, who actually had to go through hell to get to the ruins, and then were more geared toward getting something spiffy to bring back than doing what we, today, would call archaeology. There are only x basic stories in the world, and Frankenstein is My Fair Lady. In some ways, there's probably only one story, if you think about it. Tomb Raider is as Tomb Raider does.
It just bugs me, you know?
Touch the Toast