Review of: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Overall Rating: 10
Well worth the wait, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was an amazing movie experience. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg pulled it off again and created another Indiana Jones movie that fans will be proud of. They were able to bring back the over the top wild ride packed full of exploration, history and the sense of humor we have come to know and love from the Indiana Jones move series.
They brought back an amazing cast for the film: Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchette, John Hurt, Karen Allen, & Ray Winstone. Each of them really brought their characters to life making them believable. For those concerned about Harrison’s ability to pull off Indiana Jones then their fears will be put to rest. For me the biggest concern was not in the appearance of Harrison Ford but it was in Harrison’s ability to pull off the vitality of Indiana Jones. When we first see him it is a little jarring but that is actually due to the makeup used to make him look dirty and distressed so he would look appropriate for the situation that Indiana Jones was in. Then shortly into the movie Indiana has to get himself out of a very difficult situation where he explodes into action running, jumping, ducking and dodging.
Lucas brilliantly weaves in the disparate historical events, mysteries, and cultural idiosyncrasies of the late 40’s early 50’s. For more information about the story line and to watch the trailer for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull check out the May theater or renter post.
Likes
- How Lucas took a moment to address what happened to Marcus & with Indiana’s dad.
- Naming Shia LaBeouf’s character Mutt I found hilarious since Indiana was the dogs name and a Mutt is the name of a mixed breed dog. Lucas puts it in and doesn’t draw attention to it except for one cafe scene where Indiana without realizing it makes a similar critique about the bizarre nature of Shia’s name that Indiana gets in the Last Crusade.
- I love that Indiana Jones used the very same reference name of Jr. and Henry that he complained about his father using in the Last Crusade.
- Maintained the spirit, vitality, adventure, and humor we have come to know and love from Indiana Jones movies
- How all of the ancient traps and secret compartments maintained a Rube Goldberg feel to them with all of the moving parts and gears.
- How they did not allow it to become a move about the Aliens. Instead the story keeps it’s focus on the the message, the exploration, and the archeology.
- The very touching scene where Lucas pulled a tip of the hat to Joseph Campbell where he has Indiana teach the follow your bliss message.
- The nice way we were brought up to speed on what happened in the intervening years with out stopping the flow of the main story.
- I loved how Lucas was able to put in a lot of wonderful edifying life messages without becoming preachy or taking from the flow or experience of the story.
Dislikes / Concerns
- Shia LaBeouf’ did not make me believe he was a greaser. His acting lacked some of the cultural Idiosyncrasy and toughness that a real greaser would have. He “acted” tough but was way over compensated. I’m still debating with myself if it was a flaw in the acting or a brilliant attention to detail tied into the back story of the character with him being a poser to the greaser community.
- I got terribly concerned with the passing of the torch scene at the end of the movie. Thankfully Lucas zigs when I expected him to give into the Hollywood typical zag. If he would have zag it would have ruined a great movie and I commend Lucas for not giving in.
Related posts
When word spread about another attempt to adapt a Stephen King novel I cringed. Images of failed attempts flashed in my mind remembering the real horror of the whole thing was not the movies it was the production. That said, like many out there I would love to see a successful adaptation and maybe it could work using the series format rather then the movie format.
