Duba wurin da ke ƙasa sannan ka amsa tambayar daga baya a cikin harshe ɗaya kamar yadda wurin yake:  Passage: Jolie ta gaba ta fito tare da Antonio Banderas a matsayin amaryarsa ta wasiƙa a cikin Original Sin (2001), na farko na jerin fina-finai waɗanda masu sukar da masu sauraro suka karɓa da kyau. Mawallafin jaridar New York Times Elvis Mitchell ya yi tambaya game da shawarar Jolie na bin wasan kwaikwayonta na Oscar tare da "rashin hankali". Fim ɗin ban dariya na soyayya Life or Something Like It (2002), kodayake ba shi da nasara, ya nuna wani zaɓi na musamman ga Jolie. Salon's Allen Barra ya yi la'akari da halayyar mai gabatar da labarai mai ban sha'awa a matsayin ƙoƙari na musamman na taka rawar mata na al'ada, yana mai lura da cewa wasan kwaikwayonta "ba ya tashi daga ƙasa har zuwa wani yanayi inda ta zama mai lalata kuma ta jagoranci rukuni na ma'aikatan motar bas a cikin raira waƙa 'Satisfaction'". Duk da rashin nasarar da ta samu a ofishin akwatin, Jolie ta kasance a matsayin 'yar wasan kwaikwayo; a shekara ta 2002, ta kafa kanta a cikin 'yan wasan kwaikwayo mafi kyawun Hollywood, suna samun dala miliyan 10 zuwa dala miliyan 15 a kowane fim na shekaru biyar masu zuwa. Jolie ta sake yin rawar da ta taka a matsayin Lara Croft a Lara Croft: Tomb Raider <unk> The Cradle of Life (2003), wanda ba shi da riba kamar na asali, yana samun dala miliyan 156.5 a ofishin akwatin duniya. Ta kuma fito a cikin bidiyon kiɗan Korn "Did My Time", wanda aka yi amfani da shi don inganta ci gaba. Fim dinta na gaba shi ne Beyond Borders (2003), wanda a ciki ta nuna wani mai zamantakewa wanda ya shiga ma'aikacin agaji wanda Clive Owen ya buga. Kodayake ba ta yi nasara tare da masu sauraro ba, fim ɗin ya zama na farko na ayyukan sha'awar da Jolie ta yi don jawo hankali ga abubuwan jin kai. Bayan iyakoki ya kasance mummunan gazawa; Kenneth Turan na Los Angeles Times ya yarda da ikon Jolie na "kawo wutar lantarki da gaskatawa ga matsayin", amma ya rubuta cewa "limbo na halayen halayen, mutumin da ba a rubuta shi ba a cikin wani abu mai banƙyama, jini da guts, ya ci nasara da ita. "A shekara ta 2004 an sake sakin fina-finai hudu da Jolie. Ta fara fitowa a cikin fim mai ban sha'awa Taking Lives a matsayin mai binciken FBI wanda aka kira don taimakawa Montreal tilasta bin doka bin wani mai kisan kai. Fim ɗin ya sami bita iri-iri; Hollywood...  Tambaya: Yaya yawan kudin da fim din ya samu?
Dala miliyan 167.3