Raiders of the Lost Ark revisited "Snakes! Why did it have to be snakes?!"

Right OK its time yet again for me revise one of my early posts on this blog and the one I will expand upon this time is Raiders of the Lost Ark.

So let's get whip cracking! (sorry bad pun I know!).

And yup as usual SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!

STORY 

Sooooo the film is set in 1936 and begins in South America, where Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford), an American archaeologist, makes his way into a Peruvian temple, which is filled with booby traps, to find a golden idle, which he successfully obtains.  However on his way out, he is surrounded by a tribe of Hovitos, who are lead by a French archaeologist, Rene Belloq (Paul Freeman), one of Indy's main rivals, who takes the idol from him, but Indy manages a narrow escape.  Indy makes it back to America, where he returns to a local college where he teaches archaeology and he is approached by two army intelligence agents, who tell him about Hitler's quest for the occult and has sent his Nazi soldiers across the world in trying to find artefacts.  The agents also tell Indy that the Nazis are looking for his old mentor, Abner Ravenwood, who apparently has in his possession the head piece to the staff of Ra, an old relic.  From this information Indy deduces the Nazis are trying to locate the resting place of the ark of the covenant, the biblical chest buit by the Israelites, which is supposed to contain fragments of the ten commandments, and if the Nazis get their hands on the ark, it will make them invincible.

Indy agrees to go and locate the Ark and try to obtain it before the Nazis do, with his first lead being Abner's daughter, Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), who was a former lover of Indy's and now lives in Nepal and owns a bar.  After a drinking contest, Indy waits for Marion and she bitterly tells him to get out, angry for how their relationship ended, and Indy asks if she has the head piece he needs, but she tells him her father is dead, and to come back tomorrow.  Indy leaves, and after he does, Marion reveals she is wearing the head piece on a chain under her shirt, shortly after this, one of the Nazi officers, Toht (Ronald Lacey), enters the bar with some men who raid her place, and Toht is about to interrogate her (with a hot poker no less!) when Indy comes back and rescues her.  After the fight is over, Marion vows to go with Indy until she gets her money back that he gave her for the medallion head piece.

Indy and Marion then travel to Cairo where they meet up with a friend of Indy's, Sallah (John Rhys Davies), a talented digger, who's services have also been utilised by the Nazis who are excavating the site called the Well of Souls, where the Ark is said to have been kept.  The Nazi dig is of course lead up by Belloq, and Colonel Dietrich (Wolf Kahler) who have managed to obtain a copy of the staff head piece from the scar on Toht's hand.  Meanwhile Indy and Marion are attacked in the local market by Nazi operatives, and the kidnap Marion, with Indy chasing after her, he is lead to a truck where he sees a basket which Marion unsuccesfully hid in is loaded onto, he shoots the truck driver, which turns on its side and explodes, leaving Indy believing Marion is dead.  After this Indy goes to a friend of Sallah's who tells them what the markings of the head piece mean, and they also deduce that the Nazis are digging in the wrong place.  Indy and Sallah then take advantage of this and find the actual location of the Ark by using the staff with the head piece, and soon excavate the dig site, and uncover the entrances to the well of souls.  Indy goes down inside but it is filled with snakes, some of which he burns with gasoline, Sallah soon follows down and the two of them find the Ark in one of the chambers, they place it in a crate and hoist it up outside.

By the morning however, Belloq, who by now has been holding Marion (it was revealed that they had switched the basket she was in prior to the truck being blown up) sees the dig site, and sends the Nazis up where they seize Sallah's men, and seal Indy into the well of souls, not before Toht throws Marion down into the well of souls also.  Indy manages to break through the walls with one of the giant statues to allow them to escape outside, where they see the Ark is about to be loaded onto a plane.  Indy fights with one of the plane mechanics, while Marion gets trapped inside the plane after knocking out the pilot, at the end of the fight the mechanic gets diced in the plane's propellers, and Indy rescues Marion from the plane, just before gasoline that leaks from it, catchs fire and blows up the plane.  After this, Sallah tells Indy that the Nazis are loading the Ark onto a truck for Cairo, and Indy intercepts the truck and manages to dispatch the Nazi soldiers who are inside it.  Indy and Marion with Sallah's help manage to leave Cairo on a cargo ship, but the next day the Nazis intercept the ship and board it, capturing Marion, although Indy escapes, and smuggles himself onboard the Nazi u-boat, where he dons the disguise of a soldier.  The U-boat travels to an island in the Aegaen sea, where Belloq and the Nazis plan to hold a ritual ceremony to open the Ark and test its power before presenting to Hitler.  Indy tries to stop them by threatening to use a rocket launcher, which he aims at the Ark, but Belloq disuades him from doing so, and let's himself be captured.  And this leads into the films supernatural and dramatic climax.....

THOUGHTS 

Well I think its safe to say that Raiders of the lost ark remains to this day still stands as one of the best and most entertaining action adventure films in modern cinema.  Steven Spielberg and George Lucas with Raiders of course were doing their nod to the old 1930s cliffhanger serials seen in the cinema back then, and there plenty of cliffhanger moments in Raiders.  And what makes Raiders also that appealing is of course its action set-pieces which are superb as well as very well staged, particularly Indy's chase of the Nazi's truck with the Ark onboard, and how he dispatches them, and ends up being flung out the windscreen of the truck, only to crawl underneath it and use his whip to trail behind it and get back on again.  Then there is of course the gunfight in Marion's bar near the begninng of the film, and the opening sequence with Indy braving the temple to find the golden idol, where he has to dodge booby traps that feature big spikes coming out the walls, darts, and that giant boulder!

Perhaps one thing that is noticeable about Raiders is the level of violence in it is quite strong, especially for a PG certificate, as the baddies get spiked, sliced, shot, burned alive, and wiped out nastily by the Ark, complete with melting and exploding faces.  For its time it was pretty strong stuff, but the Temple of Doom would take things even further in that arena and became the film that introduced the PG-13 rating from the American film censors. 

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES 

So cast wise, the performances here are all great, with Harrison Ford giving a great performance as Indiana Jones, the adventurous archaeologist, and its hard to imagine any other actor play the part as well as he did, with a dry wit, intelligence, and fair bit of grit as well.  As Indy, Harrison has his fair share of great scenes and he has a great introduction at the start of the film where we don't see his face but his figure as he walks through the South American jungle.  And as one of Indy's treacherous guides pulls a gun on him, Indy hears the gun click and turns around quickly and whips the gun out the guide's hand and Indy steps into view and we see him for the first time and its still one of the great character intros in cinema.  Then there is the scene where Marion nurses his wounds and she says he's not the man she knew 10 years ago and he replies "Its not the years, honey, its the mileage!".  Also there is the scene where Indy tells Sallah to get a plane or boat for them, and he's going after the Ark, and Sallah asks "How?", and Indy says "I dunno, I'm making this up as I go!".

Another good scene comes when near the start of the film when Indy runs for his life as he's chased by the tribe of Hovitos and he screams at his bi-plane pilot, Jock (Fred Sorenson) who is fishing "JOCK!!!  START THE ENGINE!!!  JOCK!!!".  And then after Indy manages to get onboard the plane and fly away he looks in his seat and sees a snake and he yells at Jock "There's a big snake in the plane, Jock!" and Jock says "Oh, that's just my pet snake, Reggie!" and Indy yells "I hate snakes, Jock!  I hate em!!" and Jock says "Oh, come on show a little backbone, will ya?!".  Then there is the scene where Indy after he thinks Marion is dead drowns his sorrows at a bar and Belloq joins him and as Belloq says of the ark "Its a transmitter!  A radio for talking to God!" and Indy says to him "You wanna talk to God??  Let's go see him together, I've got nothing better to do!".

Then there is the scene where Indy is about to set off for Nepal and Marcus pays him a visit who warns him about the ark saying "Its like nothing you've gone after before!".  And Indy laughs "Oh, Marcus. What are you trying to do, scare me? You sound like my mother. We've known each other for a long time. I don't believe in magic, a lot of superstitious hocus pocus. I'm going after a find of incredible historical significance, you're talking about the boogie man. Besides, you know what a cautious fellow I am!" and he picks up his gun and tosses it into his suitcase.  And then there is Indy's last scene where he leaves angrily from his meeting with the intelligence agents who tell them the ark is being studied by "Top men!".  And Indy angrily says to Marion "Fools!  Beauracratic fools!  They don't know what they've got there!" but Marion tries to reassure him by saying "But I know what I've got here!  You wanna get a drink?" and he ends up linking arm and arm with Marion as they leave together.  

And last of all there is of course the famous scene where Indy in Cairo during the market chase scene is confronted by a Arab swordsman who clearly wants to fight him but Indy simply takes out his gun and shoots him.  And of course during the production (in Tunisia) Ford suffered from dysentery and wasn't up to filming the proposed fight scene with the swordsman and he instead suggested "why don't I just shoot the son of a bitch!" which is of course what they did!     

Karen Allen is also excellent as Marion, Indy's love interest who starts off the film as being very feisty, and halfway through becomes more of a damsel in distress, but she nonetheless is a welcome change to the usual screeching females you can get in these types of roles.  Allen also has some fun moments in her role such as the scene where she first meets up with Indy and she smiles as she turns around and looks at him saying "Indiana Jones!  I always knew some day you'd come walking back through my door.  I never doubted that. Something made it inevitable!".  And then after asking Indy a question and he answers, she springs a surprise punch in the face to him and she angrily says "I learned to hate you in the last ten years!".  And later after Indy rescues Marion from the Nazis and her places has been burned down by a fire starting during the fight, Marion yells at him in the freezing winter night "Well, Jones, at least you haven't forgotten how to show a lady a good time!".

Another good scene from Allen comes when Marion is chased by an Arabian and she grabs a frying pan from a nearby stall in the market but he produces a knive and she rans away and he follows and we hear a loud clunk and then see the arabian's unconscious body fall out.  But then Marion is captured by the Nazis while she tried to conceal herself in a laundry basket and as the Nazi agents carry her away she yells "You can't do this to me!  I'm an American!".  Another good scene from Allen is when Marion is held captive by the Nazis in a tent in the desert but Belloq gives her a dress and they share a bottle of Vodka and Marion outdrinks him.  And Marion then grabs a knive during their laughter and she tries back out the tent "I like you, Rene, very much. Perhaps we'll meet again under better circumstances!" but she backs right into Toht who disarms her and forces her back.

And there is the scene where Marion is thrown down into the well of souls by Toht and she clings onto one of the giant statues but loses her grip and is caught by Indy and Marion shrieks when a giant Python snake snaps at her and she leaps on Indy's back in panic.  And as Belloq looks down below he says to her "It was not to be, cherie" and Marion looks and yells back "YOU BASTARDS!! I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS!!!".  And lastly there is the funny scene where Indy and Marion are onboard Katanga's boat and Indy examines his bruised chin in a large mirror on one side and Marion stands on the other side and she rubs the mirror and flips it right round but it connects sharply with Indy's chin and he let's out a loud scream of pain!  And afterward Marion looks at him and says "What did you say?".         

Paul Freeman as Belloq is great as well, playing Indy's rival, with a sly charm, and clearly is not overly furnished in the morals department, as he doesn't mind working with the Nazis to get his hands on the Ark.  Freeman get's his share of highlights as well and as a few examples there is his first scene where Belloq stands over Indy with a whole Hovito tribe surrounding them and he says to Indy "Dr. Jones. Again we see there is nothing you can possess which I cannot take away!".  And later there is the scene where a drunken Indy sits with Belloq after believing Marion is dead and Belloq says to him "How odd that it should end this way for us after so many stimulating encounters.  I almost regret it. Where shall I find a new adversary so close to my own level?" and Indy replies "Try the local sewer!".  And in the scene Belloq says to Indy "Jones, do you realise what the ark is?!  Its a transmitter!  A radio for talking to God!".  And as Indy goes to pull out his gun all the arabs draw their guns but Indy is rescued by a group of children as they lead him out leading Belloq to say "Next time it will take more than children to save you!".

Then we have the scene where Belloq and the Nazis arrive at the well of souls and prepare to trap Indy down in it by sealing the entrance up top.  And Belloq calls down and says to him "What a fitting end to your life's pursuits. You're about to become a permanent addition to this archaeological find. Who knows? In a thousand years, even you may be worth something!".  And lastly there is the scene on the island where the Nazis carry the ark toward a place to carry out a riutal but Indy interrupts it by aiming a rocket launcher from a mountain top above them.  And Belloq talks Indy out of doing it by saying "Yes blow it up!  Blow it back to God!  Indiana we are simply passing through history.  But this (points to the ark)...this IS history!  Do as you will".  But (SPOILER!) Indy is then captured by the Nazis which leads into the film's climax where we see the full force of the ark's powers unleashed on the Nazis and Belloq who's face explodes as a result!   

John Ryhs-Davies is similarly great as Indy's good friend and digger, Sallah, and he get's some good scenes as well such as his first one where Indy has just arrived in Cairo with Marion.  And Sallah voices his concerns over the ark by saying to Indy "The Ark. If it is there, at Tanis, then it is something that man was not meant to disturb. Death has always surrounded it. It is not of this earth".  Another good scene for John is when Indy and Sallah come to the conclusion that Belloq is "digging in the wrong place!" and as Indy is about to toss a date into his mouth, at the last second Sallah catches it as he sees the little monkey lie dead from having eaten a poisoned one (belonging to one of the Nazi's spies) and Sallah says "Bad dates!".  And last of all there is the moment where Sallah and Indy finally open up the entrance to the well of souls and they look down below.  And Sallah says "Indy, why does the floor move?" and Indy asks him for Sallah's torch and throws it down into the tomb where we sees loads of snakes slithering about.  And Indy looks back up in fear saying "Snakes!  Why did it have to be snakes!" and Sallah says "Asps.  Very dangerous!  You go first!".  

Denholm Elliot is also excellent as Marcus, Indy's friend and museum owner who plays a smaller part here but his role would be expanded on in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.  Elliot has some good scenes as well such as the scene where Marcus and Indy meet with the intelligence agents and Marcus tells the agents "The Bible speaks of the Ark leveling mountains and laying waste in entire regions. An Army that carries the Ark before it... is invincible".  And then there is the scene where Marcus visits Indy and tells him that the agents have given him the go ahead to find the ark.  And Indy says he will follow up his first lead which is Marion's father, Abner and he asks Marcus "Do you think she'll still be with him?" and Marcus says "Possibly.  Marion's the least of your worries right now, believe me, Indy!".  And as Indy asks what he means, Marcus continues " Well, I mean that for nearly three thousand years man has been searching for the lost ark. It's not something to be taken lightly. No one knows its secrets. It's like nothing you've ever gone after before!".  

Quickly I will mention Alfred Molina who makes an early onscreen appearance as Satipo, one of Indy's guides in South America at the start of the film who betrays him but ends up paying for it.  And Molina has some good moments in his brief role such as the moment where Indy and Satipo arrive inside a temple and see a golden idol in the room ahead of them and Satipo says "Let us hurry!  There is nothing to fear here!" and as he makes to go ahead Indy stops him and says "That's what scares me!".  And in the next scene after Indy takes the idol the temple begins to collapse and they come a chasm which Satipo swings over with Indy's whip.  And from the other side Indy has the idole and Satipo says to him "Give the idol!" and Indy says "Give me the whip!" and Satipo sees a big stone door coming down ahead of him "No time to argue!  Give me the idol, I give you the whip!".  So Indy throws the idol to Satipo who catches it and Indy says "Give me the whip!" but Satipo drops it and smiles saying "Adios senior!" only to be killed by traps and spiked to death.  

Wolf Kahler is also pretty good as the ruthless Nazi, Colonel Dietrich who leads the operation for the Nazi army's recovery of the Ark.  And Kalher has some good moments as well although I will only mention two, first off the one after Indy chases the Nazis and manages to eventually successfully steal the truck carrying the Ark.  And after Dietrich and Belloq lose them in the marketplace, one of the locals comes over and offers Dietrich a watermelon and he takes it and smashes it!  And lastly there is the scene onboard Katanga's boat where Katanga says he killed Indy but he wants them to leave him the girl.  And Dietrich says "Savage!  We will take what we want, and then decide whether or not to blow your ship from the water!".  

And lastly I will mention Ronald Lacey who is excellent as the Nazi agent, Toht, and he plays the role in a very creepy manner who is quite memorable and he fits the part of a chilling Nazi.  Lacey also has some good moments such as his first scene where he enters Marion's bar in Nepal and he greets by saying "Good evening, Fraulein!".  And as Marion is curt with him, Toht has his men grab Marion as he talks a hot poker and takes it over to Marion who pleads "I can be reasonable!" and Toht coldly says "That time has past!".  And Marion panics and pleads again "Please!  I'll tell you everything!" and Toht goes close up to her and says "Yes!  I know you will!" and he puts the poker right up to her face only to have it whipped out of his hand by Indy who suddenly appears and a gunfight ensues.  And in the scene Marion's medallion, which Indy and Toht are after is caught in a fire and Toht tries to grab only to scold his hand causing him to scream in agony and he runs outside and desparately sticks his burnt hand in the snow!

And last of all there is the scene where in Cairo at night while Marion is held captive in a tent and she tries escape, Toht appears out of nowhere and disarms her.  And he coldly says to her "We meet again, Fraulein!  You Americans are all the same.  Always overdressing for the wrong occassions!".  And Marion cowers back in fear as Toht takes off his leather coat and he produces what appears to be a nunchuk, which he turns into a coathanger and one of the Nazi soldiers hangs his coat for him on it.  And Toht then takes a chair and sits across from Marion and Belloq and he says creepily with a big smile "Now... what shall we talk about?!".  Oh and of course we can't forget (SPOILER!) Toht's legendary face melting scene when the ark unleashes it full powers over the Nazis and Belloq!  Yeah what a way to go!  

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC 

As for the film's director, Steven Spielberg well he rarely puts a foot wrong here and he is no stranger to know how to direct a suspenseful and exciting action film and Raiders is no exception and he more than confidently handles the film's superb and creative action setpieces.  Spielberg also get's the very best out of his cast here as well and as a director this was always one of his main strengths.  Spielberg starts the film with the memorable image of a mountain in the South America serving as a real life backdrop to the Paramount pictures logo.  But Spielberg also was no stranger to putting his cast into fearful positions such as having to deal with snakes or tarantulas, such as with the actor Alfred Molina whom he put a number of tarantulas on his back during one of the film's opening scenes!  Spielberg for the well of souls scenes also had over 7000 snakes imported in for the scenes and he had to have a sheet of glass placed between Ford and a large Cobra snake in the scene Indy crash lands into the tomb.  But regardless of that this still is one of Spielberg's very best directorial efforts and one of his most fun.         

As for the music, we have John Williams superb score, which perfectly captures the mood of the film, and gives Indy the perfect signature theme, which is totally memorable, not to mention catchy and hummabel!  And like alot of Williams's scores, and the scores has many great tracks throughout that highlight the film's heroics, drama, suspense and most of all fun.  And to this day it still stands as one of Williams's very best scores, which is readily available for download on Youtube is well worth it! 

FLAWS  

As for Raiders flaws..... well yeah OK even though its a great film it does have a few and for starters you'd have to say in the scene at night where Indy and Sallah dig for the Well of Souls, its seems a bit bizarre that the Nazis wouldn't post guards around the dig site to check out for night activity.  As you would think the Nazis would be extremely security conscious, they would try and look out for a sneaking bunch of diggers trying to uncover the very artefact they are looking for!  Perhaps I'm wrong, and its reasonable to assume at night time, the guards will be just posted around the soldiers and officers tents.

I also find it just a bit improbable in the scene where Indy is thrown out of the Nazi truck by one of the soldiers, after being shot in the arm, that he would be able to cling onto the front of the truck and then make his way underneath and use his whip to cling onto the back of it and drag himself along the ground while the truck is in motion, WITHOUT scraping his legs and knees to shit!  Yeah somehow Indy miraculously manages to do just that without any problem and most likely his legs are fine in the film.  In real life when they filmed that shot though Harrison did it for real but he wore protected pads around his legs during filming.  But it seems a bit daft that Indy would come through that without any massive scars on his legs!

Its also a bit strange how Indy knows not to look at the supernatural powers of the Ark in the scene where Belloq opens the Ark, yet Belloq seems unaware of this himself, being a rival archaeologist, you'd imagine he would have this knowledge, and should have been more wise to have dealt with opening the Ark.  It also begs the question: how did Indy know not to look at the contents of the Ark in the first place??!!  That's something that is never explained.  And if they had opened the Ark for Hitler in Berlin, it would have also probably saved WWII from having happened!  Marcus's statement about the "army who carries the ark before it, is invincible" also proves redundant in the end, as the Ark is a source of power that no one can control, so in the end it just seems a bit pointless excavating it, especially if they can't control its power!  So in short they should have left the Ark where it was! 

And lastly I find the idea at the end of the film that the Ark would be just put in a wooden crate and stored away in a big warehouse filled presumably with other strange and invaluable aterfacts is a bit daft.  As the army intelligence agents want to just keep the Ark under wraps it seems they would rather not take any risks with it, but at the same time rather than study it, they decide to just stick it in a big warehouse with probably another bunch of strange finds.  And funnily enough they do revist that very warehouse in the most recent Indy film, The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull where we see a sneak peek of the crate carrying the Ark! (a nice moment in an otherwise dull sequel!).

Anyway that's me done with the flaws.

SUM UP

So to sum up Raiders of the Lost Ark is still a thrilling and highly enteratining action movie, which has plenty of great action, suspenseful moments and above all a great sense of fun and its also film that will never date with age.  The film also benefits from its excellent cast, great set design and location shooting (not to mention Douglas Slocombe's excellent cinemaphotography) and last but not least, its memorable and superb music score by John Williams.  And for me its still one of the best action films of all time and as such is one that warrants repeated viewing time and time again.

So that's it for Raiders of the Lost Ark redux edition and I will be back with another post again in December (how time flies!).

Until the next un its bye for now!

JFK Revisited "Back and to the left!"

OK so this is YET another post revisit as I have already relooked at this post last year (as the original was from what is now my exclusive tennis blog) but since the anniversary of the Kennedy assassination is almost upon us (i.e. tomorrow 22 November) I thought I would look at it again.

So with that in mind let's get in the courtroom and give this film another look.....   

And yep as usual here is a PLOT SPOILER ALERT!!!

STORY

So the story starts with pre-credits explaining the events leading up to Kennedy's assassination (narrated by Martin Sheen).  On the day of the assassination, in New Orleans, District Attorney Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner) is informed by one of his staff Lou Barnes (Jay Sanders) of the crime.  After Kennedy's death is announced officially on television, the suspected assassin Lee Harvey Oswald (Gary Oldman) is arrested and taken to the station for questioning.  Garrison then plans to investigate any suspects and associates of Lee Harvey Oswald's that might be under his jurisdiction in New Orleans, however before he can do that, Oswald is assassinated live on TV by Dallas mob man Jack Ruby (Brian Doyle Murray).  Regardless of Oswald's shock assassination, Garrison brings in one of Oswald's alleged known associates, David Ferrie (Joe Pesci) who naturally denies he ever knew Oswald.  However Ferrie gives a very shaky account of his activities on the day of the assassination which Garrison doesn't believe and has Ferrie detained for more questioning by the FBI, regardless of this though Ferrie is let go, after which Garrison decides not to continue investigating any further.

Three years later in 1966, after sharing a conversation with a senator, Russell Long (played by the late great Walter Matthau) on an airplane, Garrison starts to have serious doubts and suspicions about the events of the assassination and that Oswald was the lone gunman.  After more digging around, and reading over the 26 volumes of the official assassination investigation, published by Warren Commission and conducted by chief judge Earl Warren (played by Garrison himself), Garrison decides to re-open the investigation of the crime.  With his small team of staff, Garrison questions many different witnesses to the shooting, and potential suspects that may have been connected to the assassination.  As Garrison and his team investigate further, a name that keeps popping up is Clay Bertrand, who is later revealed to be Clay Shaw (played by Tommy Lee Jones) a well respected businessman and entrepeneur.

However on bringing Shaw in for questioning, Shaw categorically denies any knowledge of Oswald, Ferrie or any one else potentially involved in the conspiracy, as well as denying his Clay Bertrand alias.  But soon after their meeting, Garrison's investigation is made public and soon the press and media come down hard on him.  Now forced to operate out in the open, Garrison faces tough choices ahead of him in carrying out his investigation, after receiving various death threats, crank calls, and narrowly escaping frame ups to discredit him.  Eventually after rigorous investigations, including a discussion with an ex-military figure who simply calls himself "X" (Donald Sutherland) who provides him with important background knowledge to the events surrounding the assassination, Garrison decides to arrest Shaw and prosecute him for his possible involvement in the alleged conspiracy to assassinate Kennedy.  What follows after this is a lengthy trial sequence where Garrison presents his case for the prosecution of Clay Shaw as well as his speculation on the events on the day of the assassination in Dallas. 

THOUGHTS ON THE FILM AND CONSPIRACY THEORY

JFK is without a doubt a great achievement in its own, as Oliver Stone took a controversial subject and turned into a fascinating, gripping and intelligent film.  If you look at the events and evidence that are presented in the film, it certainly does a great job at convincing you that there was a possible conspiracy involved.  Jim Garrison himself showed tremendous moral courage and character in bringing such a trial to the public eye, as he himself faced great danger in enraging the government and endangering his own life in the process.  But Garrison is never potrayed as anything else other than a very decent man who in reality at first was never really keen on Kennedy at the time but during his investigation came to admire him for what he stood for during his time as the president before his untimely tragic death.  Oliver Stone himself based the film on Jim Garrison's book, On the trail of assassins (which details Garrison's trial to prosecute Clay Shaw) as well as Crossfire: the plot that killed Kennedy by Jim Marrs.

But whether or not a conspiracy took place in Dallas that day or not, no one really knows, but the film certainly does its best to convince the viewer that there was one.  One of key aspects of the assassination as highlighted in the film was that it seemed highly unlikely that Oswald could have fired 3 shots that from the book depository window, in such a short space of time (5-7 seconds), and do it with such precision from the distance he was at from the motorcade.  And that is where the other riflemen come into the equation and the scenario of a team that would be able to place themselves in fixed positions to ensure the assassination would be carried out precisely.

Another crucial crux of the film and the case was, there had to be more than just 3 shots, as if for no better reason, there were four known wounds, three to Kennedy (in the throat, back and head) and one to Governor Conally (one in the back).  This is where the Warren Commission presented the ridiculous "magic bullet" theory that one bullet accounted for the wounds between Connally and Kennedy. Also based from the facts given from the film, it seems unlikely that if after Oswald committed the crime, that he would be able race down the stairs in about 90 seconds, only to face a police officer who was checking out the building, to ask whom he was, and appear not to be out of breath, which the policeman testified later that Oswald was absolutely not out of breath.

Another theory however that has been stated over the years was the final headshot that killed Kennedy was in fact fired by one of the secret service agents, Clinton Hill in one of the car's behind Kennedy's parade car in which Hill accidentally fired off a round from his M16 gun in the confusion which caused the fatal head shot that killed Kennedy.  Then there is the film footage, taken by an onlooker Abraham Zapruder, which shows the assassination itself, and gives possible clues of the direction of where the bullets came from.

Another key point was surely, if Oswald was even the lone gunman, he would not have acted alone, as he must been acting on behalf of powerful people behind the scenes, in this regard Oswald himself could well have been a sleeper cell, who was set in motion at the key moment, but again this is just a bit of speculation, but I personally have never bought into the possibility that Oswald was just as Garrison says in the film "an angry lone nut" who carried out the assassination purely by himself.  However in recent years the theory involving Hill is considered to be more accurate given that the type of shot fired from his M16 machine gun was far more powerful and destructive than the first two shots fired at Kennedy. 

PERFORMANCES 

Anyway moving onto the performances, well this is where JFK really excels as a film with a really top notch cast.  And starting with Kevin Costner, while he not be the best actor in the world, does give a fine performance as the DA Jim Garrison, who takes on the daunting task of bringing the JFK assassination to trial, he also shows Garrison as being a very moral man, as well as being very strong and stubborn in the face of adversity.  Costner has many highlights in the film which include his lengthy 30 minute court case sequence where he delivers a very lengthy monologue to the jury going over the arguments of his prosecution.  Costner also has some other good moments such as the scene where he argues with one of his staff, Bill Broussard (Michael Rooker) who argues that the mob could have been behind the assassination and Garrison refutes the idea.  And Garrison says "Could the mob change the parade route, Bill?  Could the mob influence the national media to go to sleep?  I mean could the mob get Oswald into and Russia and get him back???  And when have the mob used anything but 38.s for hits up close???  The mob wouldn't have the guts or power for something of this magnetude!  Assassins need paryolls, schedules, times, orders!  This was a military style ambush!  This was a coupe de'tat with Lyndon Johnson waiting in the wings!".  Another highlight of Costner's is when Garrison and his wife argue and as she yells at him "I want my life back!" he shouts back "So do I, goddamnit!  I have a life too you know!  But you can't just bury your head in the sand like some ostrich, Liz!  Its not about our house, our two cars, and our kitchen!  Its about our kids growing up in a shithole of lies and I'm angry about it!  And my life is fucked because of it, and if you can see it that way then you're life is fucked too!".

And Costner as Garrison in the film now and then quotes pieces of William Shakespeare and the most notable one is after he has his meeting with Clay Shaw and he quotes from Hamlet and says "One may smile and smile and be a villain!".  Also there are some great lines that Costner get's during his epic monologue to the jury and the most notable bit probably is the end where Garrison becomes emotional and says to them "Do not forget your dying king.  Show this world that this is still a government of the people, for the people and by the people.  Nothing as long as you live will ever be more important.  Its up to you".  And during the case Costner has another great moment where Garrison discusses the ridiculous nature of the magic bullet theory which he describes as "one of the grossest lies ever forced on the American people!".  And after he explains the supposed wounds created by the bullet he says to the jury "That's some bullet!  But the government says they can prove it with some fancy physics in a nuclear laboratory.  Of course they can.  Pheoretical physics can prove an elephant can hang from a cliff with its tail tied to a daisy!  But use your eyes and your common sense!".  Then there is the scene where Garrison shows the footage of the murder and he says at the moment of the fatal head shot to Kennedy we see Kennedy fall violently back and to the left which is inconsistent with the direction of the book depository "back and to the left, back and to the left, back and to the left!  What haeppened next?  Pandemonium!".

Joe Pesci also probably gives the film's best performance as Dave Ferrie, the crazed suspect (replete with a ridiculous wig and eyebrows and a rather exagerrated Southern accent!) who later admits to his involvement with Oswald, as he shows a mixture of malice and remorse.  Pesci also has some great moments as the paranoid Ferrie and his first scene is great when Ferrie is taken into Garrison's office for questioning over his whereabouts of the weekend of the assassination, but Ferrie's story is filled with holes, so Garrison detains him for further questioning.  And Ferrie asks why and Garrison replies "Dave I find your story simply not believable!" and Ferrie appears surprised and says "Really?!  What part?".

And then there is Pesci's best scene in the film where Ferrie in a state of panic and paranoia nervously paces a hotel room where Garrison and his men keep him after a newspaper article is released impliacting Ferrie.  And in the scene Ferrie babbles saying "But who the fuck pulls who's chain?!  Who the fuck knows?  "Oh what a deadly web we weave and we practice to decieve!".  And Garrison asks him who killed the president which sets off Ferrie into a demented rant "Oh why don't you fuckin stop it?!  This is too fuckin big for you, you know that?!  Who killed Kennedy... fuck man!  Its a mystery, its a riddle wrapped inside an enigma!  The fuckin shooters don't even know it, don't you get it?!  Fuck, man!  I can't go on talking like this, they'll fuckin kill me!  I'm gonna fuckin die!".  And Ferrie goes on to lament about how he wanted to become a catholic priest but was defrocked because of his homosexuality and he sits back saying "I'm so fucking exhausted I can't see straight!".   
Tommy Lee Jones gives an excellent performance also as Clay Shaw, and he depicts as a very sly businessman, who is clearly also very manipulative and Jones appears to revel in playing up the transparent villainous qualities of the character.  And in his best and main scene Jones refutes every accusation that Garrison makes at him as he keeps asking if he met with David Ferrie or Oswald and Shaw is aghast and says "You really have me assorting with a sordid cast of characters!".  And then he says "I am a businessman and like all businessmen I am accussed of all things!" and later when Garrison accusses him of considering an act of patriotism to kill the president Shaw says "Now just wait a minute, sir, you are way out of line!" before wrapping up the meeting and mysteriously the next day, the cover is blown on Garrison's investigation.  Another good moment Jones has is during the scene when Willy O'Keefe recalls to Garrison a meeting Willy had with Shaw, Oswald and Ferrie, where Ferrie conspires to kill Kennedy and suggests how they could do it.  And Shaw says to Ferrie "What don't we drop this subject.  Its one thing to engage in banter with these youngsters, but this sort of thing can get so easily misunderstood!" before crushing Ferrie's testicles for his disobedience!

The other smaller character roles are equally impressive, with fine stuff from Michael Rooker as Bill (one of Garrison's staff).  Rooker also has some good moments, the main one being when he tries to reason with Garrison that he is taking the wrong route and suggests the mob was behind the assassination, which Garrison dismisses.  And Bill get's fed up and says before leaving the office "This is Louisiana, chief!  I mean how the hell do you know who your daddy is??!  Because your momma told you so!  You are way out there taking a crap in the wind, boss!  And I am for one not goin along on this one!".  Of course in the director's cut of the film, Bill ends up betraying Garrison and also steals some of his files and we also see him be coerced by a government agent earlier aswell.

Laurie Metcalf as Susie, another staff member, is also very good and she has some good moments in the film, the main one being where Garrison's team meet for lunch and she goes over the file history of Oswald's character and background.  Laurie has some good moments as well such as the scene where Susie meets with Garrison and the other team members for lunch and she reads out all the info she has on Oswald.  And she says to the others "I've got his grammar school records.  Its a study of his pubic hairs!" as well as revealing her anxiety over how a spy aircraft was shot down and maybe someone didn't want the peace conference between the Russians and the Americans.  And Susie says to the others "I can't help but think that someone in our military didn't want the conference to happen.  Maybe Oswald was a part of that!".  And later on Metcalf has another good moment where she says to Bill, who has been gotten to by the Government at this point (unawares to Garrison) "Jesus Bill, don't you have enough proof of the FBI's complicity yet?!!".  

And of course Jay Sanders is also excellent as Lou Barnes, who was in reality one of Garrison's key members of staff (although the film depicts Barnes as quitting the investigation, according to Stone in his DVD commentary in reality he didn't).  Sanders also has some good moments such as the scene where Lou and Garrison are at the book despository building with the rifle that Oswald used and he does a demo of firing and reload the empty rifle and he goes over the specifics of the improbabilities of Oswald being able to pull off three precise shots.  And Lou says "I mean this is the whole essence of the case to me.  The guy couldn't do the shooting!".  And later on when Lou demands to Garrison that he can no longer work with Bill because he doesn't trust he says "I cannot work with Bill Broussard anymore" and when Garrison asks if he is giving him an ultimatum, Lou says "Well if that's what you wanna cal it?!  Hell I never thought it would come to this.  I guess I am".  And Garrison says "I won't have any damn ultimatum put to me, Lou.  I'll accept your resignation" and Lou says "Well you sure got it!  You are one stubborn son of a bitch!  And you are making one hell of a mistake".   

Also Kevin Bacon, is excellent as Willie O'Keefe (who in reality was based on one of Garrison's key witnesses, Perry Russo) the gay prostitute who claimed to have known and had sexual relations with Shaw.  And Bacon's main scene is quite impressive where Willie recalls meeting Oswald and his involvement with Shaw and Ferrie.  And as Garrison asks Willie if he will testify and if he does what he says will be attacked by different people and Willie dismisses it and says "Oh bring all those motherfuckers on in here with their college degrees!  I've got nothing to hide!  You know this about the truth coming out!  You goddamn liberal, Mr Garrison, you don't know shit because you never been fucked in the ass!  This is about order!  Who rules!".  And he finishes his scene with Garrison walking off with Bill and as they do Willie shouts out "You know you ain't a bad looking man, Mr Garrison.  Not bad lookin at all!  When I get out, I'll come see you, we can have some fun!".     


Sissy Spacek is also very good in her role as Garrison's with Liz, who has to suffer her husband's obssessions with the JFK case throughout the film.  And Sissy's best scene comes when Liz argues with Garrison and she says to him "I just want to raise our children in a normal world and I want my life back!".    

Donald Sutherland is similarly great as the mysterious "X" who delivers a very lengthy 17 minute dialogue giving Garrison the background info surrounding the events leading up to the assassination.  And Sutherland's monologue is so long is hard to pick some examples, but I think his last few lines are great where he encourages Garrison to carry on with his case.  And as Garrison says he hasn't much of a case, X says "You don't have a choice anymore.  You've become a significant threat to the national security structure!  They would have killed you already but you've got alot of light on you.  Instead they are trying to destroy your credibility.  Be honest, your only chance is to come up with a case.  Something, anything!  Make arrests, stir the shit storm, hope to reach a point of critical mass that will start a chain reaction of people coming forward then the government will crack.  Remember, fundamentall people are suckers for the truth, and the truth is on your side, Bubba.  I just hope you get a break".

Also there is the superb Jack Lemmon as Jack Martin, an assistant to a private eye detective, Guy Banister, who is great in his role as the down and out drunk, who Garrison approaches earlier on in the film.  And Jack tells Garrison what happened in Guy's office during the summer of 63, but he becomes instantly panicked when Garrison mentions the assassination and starts to leave.  And Garrison asks what is the problem and Jack says "Do I have to spell it out for you, Mr Garrison?!" and Garrisons no one knows what they are talking about and Jack stares at him in disbelief saying "You are so niave!".

And Ed Asner is also good in his brief role as Guy Banister the private eye, who was a former FBI man and was said to be closely linked to behind the scenes of the assassination, but Banister died shortly after in 1964.  Asner has a couple of good scenes, particularly his first scene where he cheers Kennedy's death and he says "All this blubbing over that no count son of a bitch!  They're balling like they knew the man!".  John Candy is also great in his role as the sleazy lawyer, Dean Andrews who apparently met with Oswald and spoke with Shaw but he refutes any claims that he knows the identity of Shaw who used the alias of Clay Bertrand.  And at the end of the scene Dean says "You're crazy as your mama!  Goes to show its in the genes!  You any idea what you're getting yourself into, Daddio?!  The government is gonna jump all over your head, Jimbo, and go cocka-doodle-doo!  Good day to your, sir!".   

And last but by no means least, there is Gary Oldman as Lee Harvey Oswald.  Oldman is great as Oswald, and potrays him as a complex and private man, who remained a mystery even after his death.  Gary Oldman also facially resembles Oswald a fair bit, and does an excellent job at reproducing his unusual American accent, which had a tinge of Russian to it.  And during the film Oldman quotes alot of the dialogue taken from Oswald's public arrest on TV as he says to the press that "I didn't shoot anyone, no sir.  They have taken me in just because I defected to the Soviet union.  I am just a patsy!". 

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC 

So FINALLY getting onto the director paragraph, Oliver Stone does a terrific job here and he keeps the viewer engrossed throughout as he presents the film's arguments in a very convincing fashion and he also makes great use of some frantic camera work as he combines a mixture of black and white footage and colour mixed in with the film itself.  Stone's screenplay is also a great achievement in itself as it is very intelligent and well researched for the most part although it does create some composite characters based on real life witnesses so there might be the odd bit of licence taken here and there.

And lastly I can't forget to mention John William's terrific film score (who also previously worked with Stone on Born on the 4th of July) which is both suspenseful and atmopsheric throughout and features many excellent tracks, particularly the main theme.  And Williams score has been mimicked in other film scores as well (such as in Tom Cruise's thriller, The Firm) and it remains as one of his more unique scores.

FLAWS 

So does JFK have any flaws?????  Well JFK does have the odd niggle or two for starters I feel the film verges on bombarding you with too much information at times, so it definitely takes a few viewings to get the gist of all the details.  This is especially the case as Stone tries to condense down the details of the trial and Garrison's investigations into three hours which makes taking it all in within that space of time even more difficult in one viewing.   

And another thing I would say about the film that probably lets it down slightly is the melodrama of Garrison's home life, as he argues with his wife Elizabeth (Sissy Spacek) who is frustrated by the amount of time he devotes to the case.  And in the film Spacek pretty much delivers samey lines such as "Before Kennedy nothing mattered more in this world to you than your children!" and "What about your kids, Jim?!!!" and "Jasper was looking for you, bawling his little eyes out!" etc.  It is however key to the film as well I guess, as it is important to show how the events of the investigation impacted on Garrison's personal life, and later in reality, his first wife Elizabeth did divorce him.  

Another slight problem with the film, and probably the case in general is there is not much evidence that cold links Shaw to knowing Oswald, as it ultimately is just the word of people who have witnessed seeing Shaw and Oswald together in the past with not much if any in the way of photographic evidence or otherwise.  But it was later revealed in 1978, four years after Shaw's death, by the at the time CIA director, Richard Helms, that Shaw did actually work for the CIA as a contractor (this is added in as insert at the end of the film).  And based on the Richard Helms testimony, it proved that Shaw was guilty of perjury.  But people of power and persuasion like Shaw, can as it seems get away with murder (or assassination in this case).

The film also seems to do its damndest to imply the current govenrment's complicity at the time of the trial as well by showing an irate judge who keeps overruling and telling off Garrison at every turn.  It pretty much stops short of saying to the audience "Yeah the government is in on it!" as to back up how Garrison (SPOILER SORRY!!!!) went on to lose the trial in the film (and also in reality) in the face of a seemingly corrupt government hellbent on covering its tracks.

Perhaps also at times due to the film's long running time certain scenes can slow the pace down a bit as there is so much information to sift through.  Also given the amount of leads Garrison had to follow up, the film also throws up a number of leads that really lead to nowhere (especially the showgirl one whom Garrison and Lou meet with) until of course Garrison meets up with the mysterious "X" who tells him key information regarding the background of the events that lay behind the assassination.    

And last of all another problem with the film comes in the scene when Garrison and Lou go to the book depository where Oswald allegedly shot from.  And in the scene Garrison refers to Clay Shaw in an incriminatory way but in the next scene one of Garrison's team, Bill, reveals that Clay Shaw's alias is Clay Bertrand and in that scene Garrison reacts with surprise as if he didn't know that Clay Shaw had any alleged involvement in the conspiracy but in the depository scene he does!  So this remains one of the film's rare pieces of poor continuity but when you watch those two scenes it really does stick out.   

Anyway that's it for the flaws.  

SUM UP 

So that is it for my re-re-look at the J.F.K which remains personally as one of my favourite films and one of the best films of the 1990s and for me Oliver Stone's best film to date.  The film is lengthy of course and it would be impossible to take in all the info it throws at you in one go but its a film that warrants repeated viewing.  It also has a fine central performance from Kevin Costner, and a top cast backing him up as well as a great screenplay and music score by John Williams.  And it remains one of the most compelling and engrossing dramas you will ever likely to see.    

So on that note I shall bid yees all goodnight!

Rise of the Tomb Raider: the review

Right so just for a change here is a video game review as the latest Tomb Raider game has just come out so this post will cover the game that is The Rise of the Tomb Raider, which has been released for the Xbox One and 360.

So without further ado let's get that hiking gear on, load up the guns and brave the chilly mountains.....

And yep a few SPOILERS MIGHT BE AHEAD!! 

STORY

OK so don't worry I won't reveal too much of the story but it follows Lara Croft (voiced by Camilla Luddington) one year after the events of Tomb Raider.  Lara's travels to Yamatai the year before where she encountered the supernatural however have been covered up by an organisation known as Trinity, who are private group who are pursuing the supernatural.  Lara then decides to try and find out about the myths around the world however she discovers that her late father was in a similar predicament with Trinity as they tried to cover up his findings and they discredited him.  Lara then travels to Sibera along with her good friend, Jonah (voiced by Earl Bayon) and they reach the ancient city, Kitezh, which Lara belives holds the truth behind immortality.  However Trinity soon follow Lara to Sibera as well and its from here she engages in a battle against the corrupt organisation and fights for her survival.

THOUGHTS

As a sequel to the tremendously successful reboot of the series, Rise of the Tomb Raider is an excellent action adventure game, which is both intense and gripping all at once.  The game is filled with plenty of heart racing, suspenseful moments as well as some long intense fight scenes where Lara again has to use her instinct and her fighting skills to keep herself alive.  The story is also a pretty good one and you do get involved with the characters in the game as opposed to some other franchises where you tend not to bother following the plot (depending on what it is of course!).

GAMEPLAY

As for the gameplay well its the same as the previous Tomb Raider game and as such its excellent as the game's control system is nice and fluid as before.  Lara's movements are pretty much the same this time around aswell with the only difference this time is that Lara can swim in certain areas of the game where she can submerge under water to reach other areas.  Another thing Lara can use in certain areas are climbing axes when she has use to climb up icy patches of mountains.  Lara also has access to a grapple to allow her to jump over certain gaps and use the grapple to attach to supports for areas which are impossible to leap to without one.  In fact the game's movement and platforming remains one of its best and most enjoyable features.     

The game also continues with its crafting system which enables Lara to craft weapons and other items such as a variety of arrow heads (e.g. poison, rope, flame).  Lara can also hunt animals with the use of a crossbow and she can skin them to make material for a coat or for food.  Lara has the ability to use plants as well to heal herself by cutting of leaves and mixing them in with other substances.  

Regarding the game's weapons there is a decent selection here and Lara starts off with her crossbow which can be customised, as can all the weapons in the game as Lara gains experience points she can build up her skills and upgrade her weapons features.  Other weapons in the game include hand guns, shotguns, assault rifles, submachine guns and knives, which Lara can use for melee attacks or for even cutting rope.  Lara can also use her crossbow with arrowheads that have rope so she can attach a rope to a far off point and she can move along the line to get to another area.  The game also features a stealth attack system where Lara can sneak up on enemies from behind or even jump them from above.  Again the game's combat is excellent with plenty of variation so you won't get bored quickly.

GRAPHICS

Getting onto the game's graphics well they are simply stunning as the game's environments are rich and detailed and they are also huge and varied as it really is an open game (or sandbox as they are called!).  The character models for the game are also top notch as Lara at times really does look lifelike (and its good to see she has a chest that is more in proportion! ;-)) and the other characters also look great and it shows just how far the series has come from the good old days of blocky graphics and polygons!  The game's lighting effects are also stunning and the game's environments change weather at different time as in certain parts of the game it snows or rains or there is sun but even the lighting in covered areas is incredible.  In fact no doubt even though I played the Xbox 360 version, which looks great by its own standards, that the Xbox One version will look even better and its still annoying that they haven't released the game for the PS4, which doesn't make much sense given its a new generation game title!

SOUND, MUSIC AND VOICE ACTING

Sound wise the game sounds superb as the effects are great and there are plenty of explosions and gunfire and other noises to keep your surround system going.  I only have a two speaker setup, but I'm sure it will make for an aural feast for any surround sound audiophile.  Music wise the game features a pretty good score by Bobby Tahouri which is both dramatic and suspenseful and is well suited to the game's intense and at times grim tone.

As for the voice acting the cast here are excellent with Camille Luddington doing a great job again as Lara Croft even though she does kind of overdo some of her gasps and groans a bit (although Lara's actions call for them I suppose!) and she plays Lara a bit too seriously.  But Camille does lend a lot of credibility to the character of Lara and she backs her up as being a believable and strong character.  The other voice actors are also very good such as Philip Anthony Rodriguez as Jacob, Lara's ally in the story, Laura Waddell as one of the villains, Ana, and Charles Halford as the other main villain, Konstantin (Ana's brother) and lastly Early Bayon as Lara's good friend, Jonah.

FLAWS

As for the game's flaws........well yeah even though as good as it is, Rise of the Tomb Raider is not quite perfect and part of the problem for me with the game lies in its dark tone as I feel even though its an excellent game it just feels like they have made the game a bit too grim and dark.  I guess with the series they are setting up Lara's beginnings and making it in a more gritty and (somewhat) realistic manner on purpose to move away from the more light hearted fantasy based nature of the previous games.  However by doing this I think it sucks some of the fun out of the game as it just takes itself way way too seriously.

In fact it makes me think that they are trying to do a Christopher Nolan on the Tomb Raider franchise by making things pretty grim and serious, but even Nolan has some moments of humour in his films however in this game I don't think I spotted one single moment of humour at all! (I mean even the title is a nod to The Dark Knight Rises!!).  And frankly I think that is something they should address for the future games as they should allow for a little humour and to show just a little of Lara's personality so its not overwhelmingly serious as if they carry on doing that it could serve to alienate some audiences, or just maybe me! ;-).

Another thing that bugged was to do with the behaviour and AI of the some of the animals in the game particularly the scene where wanders into a certain area and has to fight a bear and also later another area, a tiger.  Now in these scenes she needs to use her arrows to kill the bear and the tiger separately by using poison arrowheads for the bear and possibly the same for the tiger (I used flame arrowheads for the tiger) BUT why in the hell can't she just shoot them?!!!  I mean Lara can pump several rounds into these animals but they still keep going!!  So we have no choice but to use the arrows to kill them!  It just doesn't add up and it makes for a pretty silly bit of game programming.

And another issue I had with the game comes from Lara's almost unlimited ability to take damage as there are plenty of running action scenes where she falls off ledges or trees or whatever and crash lands hard say 20, 30 feet below yet somehow she doesn't break any bones or do serious injury to herself!  And you think realistically there is no way Lara could have survived this game and the amount of injuries she sustains and even she did survive it, she would be in a wheelchair by the end of the game!  But for the sake of the action we just have to suspend our disbelief I guess as it is just a video game after all.

I also felt the single player campaign was suprisingly a bit short as it took me basically three days of gameplay off and on to complete, which given the length of the first game seems a bit short with maybe seven or eight hours gameplay (or maybe more depending on what mode you play it on).

So that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

Rightttt so to sum up Rise of the Tomb Raider is for the most part a thrilling and exciting action game with plenty of great action and some classic platforming aswell with a few tombs thrown in too!  The visuals are simply spectacular and if you can afford the Xbox One version (or have one!) then I'd recommend you get it to get the best out of its next generation graphics, but it plays really well on the Xbox 360 as that's what I played it on myself and looks great on that too given the console's age.

The game however for me is still a bit too dark and grim in its tone at times and I think it would have benefited from a little bit of humour now and then to lighten the proceedings but maybe that's something they can remedy in future games (or maybe not!).

Anyway that's it for now from me and I'll be back again some other time soon with another post.

Until then bye for now.