The Lara Croft Rule

Editor’s note: This is part of a series of posts that highlight repeatedly recycled film topics. I’ll post a link to these within some of my reviews in order to save words and keep from driving myself crazy writing the same thing over and over.

The more I think about this one, the more I think of more films that follow this rule. If the female lead is wearing layers, check to see if there’s a white t-shirt or tank top as the base. If she does, those layers will slowly disappear. By the end of the film, she’ll be one pitcher of beer away from a wet t-shirt contest. Sexist? Obviously. I call it the Lara Croft Rule only because Lara’s base layer is so renowned. Examples? How about “Career Opportunities,” “Those Who Wish Me Dead,” “Twister,” and “Uncharted?” Can you think of more?

Those Who Wish Me Dead

I’m not that interested in animated stepmothers and wizards and whatever, so I haven’t seen much Angelina Jolie lately. Thus, it was nice to have her back in a movie for grownups, even if one of the main characters is a kid. In fact, Finn Little admirably performs a lot of heavy lifting as the teen target of government-enabled hitmen in “Those Who Wish Me Dead” (2021). The action mashup of gunfighters and firefighters has Jolie as a smokejumper suffering from PTSD when the aforementioned teen parachutes into her fire tower, so to speak. Huge plot holes, but fun action.