Mainland audiences won't be able to watch Angelina Jolie shooting smugglers of ancient relics: the second Tomb Raider movie has been banned for portraying China in a negative light. Andrew Cripps, president of United International Pictures, the film's Asian distributor, said he was told on Wednesday that Lara Croft Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life had failed a review by China's censorship board. 'We are very disappointed, but I cannot say we are surprised,' he said from his London office yesterday. 'We have to abide by decisions of national censorship bodies.' Mr Cripps said the hit movie Bad Boys II with Will Smith had also been banned from the mainland, apparently for portraying Cuba in a negative light. He said China was the only country to ban the new Tomb Raider film, which had been scheduled for release there in autumn. A report in the Southern Metropolis News quoted an unidentified censorship official as saying the plot of the Tomb Raider sequel damaged China's reputation, giving the impression of a country in chaos, with no government and overrun by secret societies. 'After watching the movie, I feel that the westerners have made their presentation of China with malicious intention,' the official said. 'The movie does not understand Chinese culture. It does not understand China's security situation. In China there cannot be secret societies.' Ironically, a significant part of the film was shot in Hong Kong. Around half the story is set in Hong Kong or the mainland. The first Tomb Raider rang up 14.41 million yuan (HK$13.72 million) in box office receipts on the mainland.
