Well well well. What do we have here folks. Another Indiana Jones. My goodness its been a long time coming but we finally have a new one. Normally I would do a music review but I figured I would give a crack at movie reviews so here goes.
Indiana Jones is a figure from my childhood. I was a kid who loved movies. Its how the ole parents would pacify me. Mom would say, “Hey Darrel. Want to watch a movie?” to which I would reply, “Of course, which one?” Mom would only offer up the words “You'll see.” The Jones trilogy was one of many movies in and out of the vcr when I was young. I remember those days fondly watching Indy heading for Ark of the Covenant or the some other crazy artifiact. Those were good times. Imagine my surprise when it was announced there would be a new one. So needless to say expectations were absolutely through the roof for this one. Except for me. I kept reserved for this one. I enjoyed the Star Wars episodes but they had their major flaws. I walked out of the theater surprisingly happy with this one.
It starts off just like most other Jones movies. He's in some sort of hairy situation with some big twitch baddies looking for an artifact. A crystal skull. That's highly magnetized and supposedly possessing powers beyond human comprehension. From there it becomes action setpiece after action setpiece. Karen Allen shows back up as Indy's old flame. Shia Lebouf thankfully tones down the usual overly witty delivery he is known for. But makes a surprisingly effective greaser. The atmosphere of this one is the 1950's during the cold war and the red scare. Nice change up from the usualy pre and post world war era's they were mostly in. Its nice that they brought back Marion. I was happy to see her big blue eyes because she was the most likable of all of Jones' girls. When they are on screen together if they aren't bickering humorously about their past they are avoiding the Russians that are after the crystal skull. Its nice that they decided to change up routines and get away from the biblical spiritual stuff and tackle another fun subject like the existence of aliens and area 51 and such. Harrison Ford, although a little up in the years does his routine as usual only with a touch more of the grizzled and more world weary attitude that comes with age. But he can still throw down like nobodies business in the fedora and whip.
So up to this point its all good. The action is mostly stunt work and really acting and such. But................There are a few moments where you have to ask why? Such as the couple sequences with the cgi prairie dogs. Why? Did they just feel the need to throw in some computer graphics for no reason. Then there's a scene when Mutt, Shia's character, ends up swinging through the jungle with a bunch of cgi monkeys. Why? These two scenes were just completely pointless and ridiculous. I guess Lucas just sat there and said this scene needed a little more cgi. There is a scene where Indie ends up in a refrigerator with a large atomic explosion in tow. That was pretty cool.
All in all I thought it was a refreshing and good take on a new Jones flick. I hope that the series is finally at rest. There are a few twists with Marion and Lebouf's character's but you can see them coming a mile away and I won't spoil anything. Despite the few moments with unnecessary cgi I thought it was not too bad. Not Raiders of the Lost Ark good. But Temple of Doom good. But I always loved Temple of Doom the most anyway. That's just me.
- Darrel