Review: Angelina Jolie's 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider' Worth Revisiting in 4KHD

Lara Croft is one of the most significant and influential video game characters in popular culture. An intelligent, athletic archeologist, she boldly runs hazard around the world, venturing into ancient tombs. First appearing in the 1996 game "Tomb Raider," developed by the British company Core Design, she holds a strong fan following and six Guinness World Records, but her lasting appeal is as a both a role model and a sex symbol, proving the two things aren't mutually exclusive. (Many a gamer's budding libido owes something to this video game heroine.)

In 2001 the video game series and its indomitable character evolved to the big screen, featuring the actress Angelina Jolie. You have to admit that Jolie as Lara Croft is a pretty amazing combination. "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" begins with her kicking some serious robot ass in an Egyptian tomb. (It turns out the whole thing is just a training exercise, but she's still pretty damn cool, because this whole experience is actually taking place in her house.)

Between punishing villains and exploring lost empires, she manages to take on the malevolent Illuminati before they make use of a mysterious artifact that will enable them to alter space and time. Impressive as that may be, she takes on her most perilous mission in "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life," in which she recovers the essence of all evil, Pandora's Box.

These films spare no expense. They have big budgets, big name actors (including Daniel Craig and Jon Voight), and huge visual effects and action sequences. Everything about this Lara Croft is bigger and better than normal; even Jolie's figure is augmented to impress. (Though, apparently, only slightly. Still, this is most certainly the 1990s Croft; she was proportionally adjusted in 2013.)

Although this kind of spectacle was made for the big screen, it comes across nicely in 4K. The newly remastered 4K Ultra HD edition vastly improves on the previous scan, with a crisper picture, deeper black, and much bolder colors that reach across a far broader spectrum - the digital version just doesn't compare.

As of June 1 the remastered film has been released in an Anniversary Edition Blu-ray with access to a digital copy. Along with this Blu-ray and the 2-movie 4K Ultra HD comes nearly 90 minutes of previously released features, including: