The much anticipated movie debut of everyone's favourite computer-generated adventurer is due for release later this year. Darren Rea looks at what we can expect from the Tomb Raider movie...

She's the fantasy figure which every schoolboy drools over. She's a well-educated, well-formed sex goddess and she kicks ass. Not bad going for a woman who doesn't actually exist (outside of a computer at any rate) or should we say "didn't exist" until now.

This June, Lara gets her first cinema outing. The producers of the movie are hoping that Ms Croft's reputation as a games character will be enough to get bums on seats but they are taking no risks and lining up some great acting talent, including Angelina Jolie who will be taking the lead role. No stranger to starring roles, Jolie won her first Academy Award and third Golden Globe Award for Girl, Interrupted and has been seen recently in Gone in Sixty Seconds and Original Sin. The movie also stars Iain Glen as Lara's arch enemy Powell, the much-loved Leslie Philips as Wilson - Powell's aide - and Chris Barrie - of Red Dwarf fame - who makes his movie acting debut as Lara's faithful butler, Hillary.

Shoot first, talk later

From Rimmer to Raider

Lara Croft - A brief background

Lara Croft had a bad start in life after her father, the famous archaeologist Lord Henshingly Croft, mysteriously disappeared while on an archeological expedition when Lara was a young girl. Coming from a wealthy background, the young Ms Croft attended a number of high-class training establishments where she learned her fighting skills, how to ski and a number of other handy tricks that no archeologist should be without. While on a skiing holiday in the Himalayas, Lara's plane crashes, leaving her as the sole survivor.

This harrowing experience leads her to throw off the shackles of upper-class British society and become a "tomb raider" travelling from country to country digging up whatever treasures she can. She rarely works for others on a commission basis, preferring to pillage what she can and sell to the highest bidder.

In a move designed to fund her adventurous lifestyle, Lara works as a photojournalist and has made quite a name for herself in the field, winning several Pulitzer prizes into the bargain.

While back in England Lara resides in her ancestral home, a large mansion in Surrey which she uses as her base of operations. The vast acres of land and numerous empty rooms are very handy when it comes to building technical labs, storing vehicles and for training purposes.

Despite her rather rough-and ready lifestyle Lara still retains the essence of her upbringing - most apparent in her upper-class accent and appreciation of classical music.

Will the movie stay faithful to the games?

Moving from computer game to live action, one of the questions that fans of the games have been asking is how much computer-generated imagery will be visible in the new movie? Will the production try to recreate the thrill of the games (who can forget the first time they encountered the T-Rex in the first game?) or will they be going for a more "realistic" feel for the movie?

Producer Lloyd Levin: The movie stays very true to the character in the game, though we had the opportunity of fleshing out her character in a number of ways. We've given her a complete life and emotional dimension. There are a great deal of special effects, but for the most part they are integrated into the live action.

Sci-Fi Online: How much of a problem did you have casting the lead role?

LL: Angelina was always our top choice to play Lara. Not only because of the physical similarities but also because of how fantastic an actress she is.

Americans are going to have to wait till June to find out how good the movie really is, with a European release date set for the end of the year. Why not take a sneak preview by viewing the trailer.