Almost, but not quite there
Since I’m on a few minutes break, I decided to present you a couple of movie ideas that were great but not pushed to the level set by their potential.
The first of these is a rather famouse name: Tomb Raider. The game franchise started in 1996 was a blast in the gaming world. Featured a departure from classic action games, Tomb Raider was focused on various types of puzzles instead of combat, while it followed the adventures of a female “Indiana Jones” named Lara Croft. Whereas Indiana Jones became a game after the movie, the success of the game prompted the making of a movie featuring the rising star of Angelina Jolie (while Lara had been previously portrayed by Katie ‘Jordan’ Price, Lucy Clarkson and Jill de Jong to name just the best of the Lara models).
The movie had everything going for it. Angelina had the looks of Lara Croft (one might argue that in the movie, just as in the game, oversized breast are a clear disadvantage when swinging in jungle or on rooftops), some acting talent (arguable) and the script writers had a plethora of game-based story ideas. With a default character charisma and a huge background, the movie was set for success. But it failed.
One reason was the absolute ridiculous storyline that took too much of a serious tone. Such a movie was never meant to be a deep insightful thing, only a quick fling to pass by a lazy evening. Still, it pretended to go deeper a bit and failed miserably at that with a succession of scenes that made no sense when tied in the order that was fed to the audience. The actors did fair but they had no chance when faced with a less than mediocre script and extremely laughable dialogue.
In contras (for example), “Resident Evil” was an action sci-fi movie that resumed to looking great and giving just a slight tint of an apocalyptic thriller. Not great but at least it didn’t pretend to be what it wasn’t.
The sad thing is that the less than famous “Relic Hunter” TV series, also based on the adventures of Lara Croft, was a lot better than the movies, with subjects delving deep into popular myths taken from all over the world and sometimes even real artefacts.
The second movie in question is a college comedy, famous on its own merit: “How High”. This one told the story of two pot-smoking black high school students who enter Harvard with the help of their long-dead friend whose ashes they mixed with their weed. The ridiculous gags are great here, some hinting at parody and even self-parody and for the most of the movie they bring a light relaxation.
No, it’s not another “Airplane” or “Police Squad”, but it has more than a fair share of laughs. It could have been raised through a better choice of cast (especially on the female side, damn! - those girls there can’t act) and also by skipping the sexual connotation gags. The “adam sandlerisms” are there but not too much, still, they manage to spoil a good part of the movie, especially near the end.
Given the above, both “Tomb Raider” and “How High” have a well deserved place on our “almost, but not quite there” movies.