NEW Indiana Jones & The Kingdom Of (DVD)

 

 

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They might have gotten a little lazy with this sequel but this film was alright. The opening scene is incredible, as we return to the warehouse last seen at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Here we see Indiana Jones for the first time since Last Crusade: Older, Wiser, and more mature. But the man can still use his whip. The thing with Crystal Skull that I really loved was that this is a different Indy. If you go in to this movie expecting to see some crazy stunts like in the previous films then you won't be satisfied. Indiana has settled down. He is in his 60's. We know what he is capable of. We know how tough he is. They didn't have to show him be the tough as nails archaeologist that we came to love because we are so familiar with him. What Spielberg did this time around was have an Indy that is more in the role of Henry Jones Sr from Last Crusade.

In a way, we have watched Indiana grow up over the course of the four films. We've seen him as the young hero and now we see him as the older hero. Spielberg said that he was making this movie for the fans. He didn't come out to make this better than Raiders. He came out to bring us Indy one last time. To show that just like all of us, Indy has grown up with the times, but he still has it in him for one last adventure.

Shia Labeouf was great as Mutt. I honestly wouldn't mind seeing a spin off with just him (maybe). Marion is always great and the chemistry between her and Indy is perfect. Cate Blanchett did a great job as Irina Spalko, she was beautiful, and a great choice for the part. But the true star of the movie is again Shia LeBouf. He so far does well in every movie he is in, but in this movie he does even better. He is funny, entertaining, and is believable as the slightly soft kid pretending to be tough. The whole alien plot was a bit much, but had a great moral at the end, the true treasure was knowledge. Though this is base on 1950's everyone was talking about aliens, and little green men, and the race to space around this era. It was nice to see Indy go after something different this time around.

For all the complaining about the CG and the impossible sequences, again, this was Spielberg and the crew having fun probably without much effort. They weren't trying to win an Oscar. They just wanted to bring back Indiana Jones. Throughout the whole film, Harrison Ford seemed like he was having a blast and so was I. All in all, even though it didn't feel like the original three, it was a "O-kay" addition. As long as you come in just wanting to have a fun time at the movies, then you will love this movie. Beside that the action sequences is decent and the story is very original. This will probably take you one watch for you to like it or not. Cheers Jones.

I can only second some of the other negative reviews found here, and scratch my head in trying to understand those who either gave this clunker a pass or actually praised it. But one additional observation I would have to make about this last (but apparently not final) installment of the Indiana Jones series is that it is marked by the emptying out of mystery and spirit from the story.
The first three films dealt with religiously significant relics (those of Judaism, Hinduism and Christianity) and asserted in the face of Indy's scientific skepticism the greater spiritual reality of existence. Now for those who haven't any spiritual inclination, at least grant that as a story-telling device, this added dimension allowed for a sense of mystery and awe, of anticipation and suspense that simply was lacking in Crystal Skull.
In this latest film the world is reduced to what can be analyzed and comprehended in scientific terms -- everything has its readily comprehended explanation: even the super aliens lack any real mystery. One knows pretty early on what the crystal skulls are about, and the big revelation is really only to the characters of the drama. Indeed, much of the religious artwork of pre-Columbian South America is reduced to being a clever cypher that holds the secret of the space visitors presence on earth (a la Chariots of the Gods, which is an indication of just how mouldy this story idea really is) Our heroes don't seem to be too over-awed by their discovery (maybe they plowed through Erich von Daniken in the 70s). And at the movie's penultimate scene, Indy and co. are able to cobble together their own little theory about how the aliens were extra-dimensional travelers. With the previous films, the mystery is never fully resolved nor the phenomena witnessed explained; and the point of the story was not something as pedestrian as acknowledging the possibility of extra-terrestrial life, but rather the characters receive a spiritual epiphany and a moral lesson. That is, they learn something that makes them better people. Not so in Crystal Skull -- here they've got some information that no one else has, and can't prove its veracity as the aliens destroyed what unambiguous proof they might have been able to point to.
The rekindled romance with Marion is not related to the main story, but feels tacked on. In Raiders a big part of Indy's growth as a character was learning what was truly important (in contrast to his nemesis Belloq), and Marion symbolized this. This time we have him re-learn this, but it is entirely independent of the crystal skull storyline.
I put some of this loss of spirituality to the darkening vision of both Lucas and Spielberg. Lucas is the more dramatic case: his Star Wars prequels exhibit the same tendency to void the spiritual aspect of existence (mitachlorians are the real source of one's "spiritual" power, for example -- the original films made us believe that the ability to tap into the Force was a product of character, not biology). I guess this is all a product of boomers steeped in the philosophy and politics of late-modern western society: unable to believe in the mystery anymore, and increasingly fearful that life is ultimately futile, they try to manufacture the experience of awe through such things as technological wonder and deaden the emptiness with appeals to sentimentality (e.g. ending the movie with a wedding, because, gee, who doesn't love a wedding?)
Sorry stuff all round, uninspiring, dull, and not worth whatever price the dvd is going for (let alone pirating a low-res copy off the internet).

This fourth entry in the franchise is not one of the better Indy films (only temple of doom is weaker than this one) but a not so great indy film is still more entertaining than just about anything. A shocking plotline involving aliens makes this worth watching and makes it very revelatory. The problem is that it's a little too tongue-in-cheek (even more so than the other entries), constantly poking fun at the fact Indy is no longer a spring chicken. We get it guys, let's move on. Despite its flaws, this is still a thrilling actioner that will keep you on your seat.

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2.0 out of 5 stars Indy has nuked the fridge.
Remember when, after an ill-advised stunt in the waning glory of Happy Days, people used to say a series or show has jumped the shark? Well there's a new saying in town. Read more

Published on Jun 9 2009 by A. Cousins

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic Indiana Jones Episodic Movie
Episode 4 in the Indiana Jones Saga. Many people were disappointed in this movie because it didn't have all the pizzaz of the original, or special effects weren't great, Indie... Read more

Published on Feb 12 2009 by Richard J. Beetham

1.0 out of 5 stars One Star is too much
While it certainly has many trademark Indiana moments, it doesn't make up for lame story elements, predictability, and overuse of yet more lame CG elements that Lucas pioneered in... Read more

Published on Jan 17 2009 by S. Elle

3.0 out of 5 stars the biggest disappointment since Jaws 4
Even though they say you can't go home again, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" had everything going for it. Read more

Published on Jan 12 2009 by Paul Mackinnon

4.0 out of 5 stars nothing really wrong with this movie
if i recall correctly,this fourth movie in the series was slagged by
critics and audiences alike,wrongly in my opinion. Read more

Published on Dec 10 2008 by falcon

4.0 out of 5 stars May Be Old--but It's Choice
There is no doubt that Harrison Ford has seen better days. And poor Karen Black looks as if there isn't enough botox in the world to deal with the ravages of age. Read more

Published on Nov 17 2008 by P. Fairburn

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