The plot, such as it is, combines elements of Indiana Jones and Sinbad films: Lara Croft lives alone except for her techno-geek sidekick, Bryce (Noah Taylor), and her butler, Hilary (Chris Barrie).

And like Jolie herself (rumour has it), Lara sleeps with knives by her bed and is the daughter of Jon Voight.

Lara was born into wealth and educated at the most elite schools. She travels to dangerous and mysterious places around the world in search of rare, lost crypts and long-forgotten empires. She speaks numerous languages, is highly trained for combat and answers to no one, obeying only a desire for adventure.

But now she must face her greatest challenge yet: to find two halves of an ancient artefact buried in space and time. To get there, she must first take on a powerful and dangerous secret society lead by Manfred (Glen).

Lara and a fellow tomb raider she loves to hate (Craig) are in a race to locate the pair of relics that form a triangle and allow the possessor to control time.

This task must be completed before the planets align or else they have to wait another 5,000 years.

Don't think too hard about the story - it doesn't stand up any more than either of the Mission: Impossible movies.

Focus instead upon the action pieces, which are all expertly produced - in fact it's like watching someone play a fabulous video game, except this one's up on a big screen at your local cinema.

It's great entertainment on a visual level.

See how the fate of mankind rests in the hands of a 21st century heroine inspired by the most popular video game character in history.

Mike Taylor