LARA CROFT - Tomb Raider "The Cradle of Life" Angelina Jolie "Wetsuit" Statue

My collectible interests come and go, often in fits and bursts. The length of those bursts varies greatly (I had a strong two months of intense dinosaur collecting, while my Godzilla phase lasted nearly 15), with a very small group of exceptions: those things I seem to always come back to. Amongst them are Batman, Darth Vader and Lara Croft. I never played the original Tomb Raider games, but I was aware of the character. I saw, and mostly enjoyed, the first movie. I even find the sequel, "The Cradle of Life", to be fairly entertaining (if I don't stop and think too much), and I think Angelina Jolie seemed to really step into the role much more solidly. That was about the extent of my Tomb Raider experience. Nevertheless, I had accumulated quite a decent collection of figures.

I have figures from Toy Biz, Playmates Toys, SOTA and NECA, and I like them all in their own ways. My recent completion of the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot shot a new charge into my Lara Croft interests, and I've added Play Arts Kai's version, as well as the Gaming Heads "Survivor" statue (reviewed on this blog) to the collection. Which brings me to the subject of this review: the "Wetsuit" statue from "Cradle of Life". I have all of SOTA's movie figures (there were only 3), and I think they are some of the very best, most complete Tomb Raider action figures ever made, combining excellent sculpts with adequate paint and articulation to give me the most posable Lara possible (in theory, that is - much like the PAK version, I can't get the articulation to work as well as I'd like). That said, I never ventured into the SOTA statue realm. I've been aware of this statue for a decade, and I've never quite taken the plunge. The price was just higher than I was willing to go, for something that didn't quite capture Jolie as well as I'd like.

That all changed when I caught I decent deal via ebay. So, here she is. After a decade of waiting, I've finally added SOTA's "Wetsuit" statue to the collection...

This statue had a run of 2,500 made, and overall it's pretty well done. With the base, it stands just under 12" tall (the figure itself is just under 10"). It has some really nice qualities, and a few gripes, as well, but I'm happy to have made the addition.

Let's get this out of the way first: the face is "off". It's not ugly, or sloppy, or anything like that, it's just not quite "Angelina Jolie". I was trying to figure out why, when my daughter walked in, took one look and said, "Her eyes are too small." Hit the nail on the head. I put the 6" figure beside the 10" statue, and what do you know? The eyes are nearly exactly the same size. So, yeah, maybe that's it? I think she could also do with a better sense of shading and eyebrow detail. But the hairline is better than on the action figure, and (like I said) it's not necessarily "unattractive", just not quite Angelina.

The rest of the sculpt seems to be proportioned pretty accurately. There's a nice level of detail to the hair and braids, as well as on the shoulder light.

In a real oddity, though, the amount of detail/paint applications on the statue are really hit-or-miss. For instance, the statue's wristwatch is painted all black, as are the shoulder straps, while the 6" action figure has a silver application to the watch face, along with raised detailing on the straps (that are painted, as well). The boot holster for Lara's knife is white on the action figure, while it's black, with a really strange clear face, allowing the knife itself to be viewed. It almost looks like they forgot to paint it. The boots are also more cleanly done on the 6" version than on the statue.

The wetsuit itself retains those weird rib lines running over the torso and legs. Maybe the actual prop had those lines, but they certainly aren't as pronounced as SOTA made them on the statue or action figure (I have a comparison picture with the movie poster that this statue's pose is based on at the end - I can't see those lines on the suit).

The splashing water effect of the base is cute, if not a bit amateurish. I like the attempt, and it's not terrible, just not very "water-like". The rest of the base has come intricate detailing inscribed along the outside, and the golden "Lara Croft Tomb Raider The Cradle of Life" imprint.

There is some slop where the black and silver paint lines meet, especially around the belt/torso area, and I've got some issues with the lack of detail in the hands (I had a similar issue with the much more expensive Gaming Heads Lara).

The "Wetsuit" statue is a nice representation of Angelina Jolie's Lara Croft from The Cradle of Life. It stays largely faithful to the movie poster, and does a decent job of capturing the likeness and look of the character and actress. It's not what I would consider a "high-end" collectible, by any means, but it is a step up from the 6" action figure. It's a nice companion piece in the display, and is well worth what I paid for it. I won't be comparing it to, or displaying it with, the Gaming Heads version I currently own, or the one I have on pre-order, but with her other SOTA sisters, this Lara is just fine.