Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Two-Disc Special Edition) | Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett | Paging Dr. Jones......

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	Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Two-Disc Special Edition) Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett Paramount Home Entertainment, 2008 average customer review:based on 303 reviews view larger image
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Nearly 20 years after riding his last Crusade, Harrison Ford makes a welcome return as archaeologist/relic hunter Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, an action-packed fourth installment that's, in a nutshell, less memorable than the first three but great nostalgia for fans of the series. Producer George Lucas and screenwriter David Koepp (War of the Worlds) set the film during the cold war, as the Soviets--replacing Nazis as Indy's villains of choice and led by a sword-wielding Cate Blanchett with black bob and sunglasses--are in pursuit of a crystal skull, which has mystical powers related to a city of gold. After escaping from them in a spectacular opening action sequence, Indy is coerced to head to Peru at the behest of a young greaser (Shia LaBeouf) whose friend--and Indy's colleague--Professor Oxley (John Hurt) has been captured for his knowledge of the skull's whereabouts. Whatever secrets the skull holds are tertiary; its reveal is the weakest part of the movie, as the CGI effects that inevitably accompany it feel jarring next to the boulder-rolling world of Indy audiences knew and loved. There's plenty of comedy, delightful stunts--ants play a deadly role here--and the return of Raiders love interest Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood, once shrill but now softened, giving her ex-love bemused glances and eye-rolls as he huffs his way to save the day. Which brings us to Ford: bullwhip still in hand, he's a little creakier, a lot grayer, but still twice the action hero of anyone in film today. With all the anticipation and hype leading up to the film's release, perhaps no reunion is sweeter than that of Ford with the role that fits him as snugly as that fedora hat. --Ellen A. Kim

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Long-awaited fourth Indiana Jones installment

After "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" (1989), the second sequel in the "Raiders of the Lost Ark" franchise, there was talk among producer George Lucas, director Steven Spielberg, and star Harrison Ford about making yet another chapter in the exciting exploits of the archaeologist/adventurer. Ideas were bandied about, various writers were hired to pen treatments, casting was discussed, schedules had to be considered, and ultimately the project was postponed -- indefinitely, it seemed. Apparently, it took 18 years before the three principal filmmakers could agree on a story and get it made.
"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," a title that would have given heart attacks to the guys who put titles on marquees in the days when every movie theatre had one, offers plenty of action, a reunion with a character from the first film, a brand new sidekick, and enough exposition to fill a doctoral thesis.
It is 1957, the height of the Cold War, so the Russians are trotted out after a long rest on the shelf of handy movie villains. Indiana is kidnapped by a team of Soviets headed by Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett) so he can lead them to an ancient artifact -- a crystal skull believed to possess supernatural powers, just the thing to give Russia the edge over the capitalist West. Essentially, the movie is a football match -- sometimes quite literally -- as chases, fights, derring-do, aggressive soldier ants, monkeys, and an agent who keeps changing his loyalty conspire to keep possession of the treasured skull in a state of uncertainty.
Director Alfred Hitchcock always used what he called a McGuffin in his movies -- a device that exists just to set the dramatic forces in motion: the stolen $40,000 in "Psycho," government secrets on microfilm in "North By Northwest," the chance meeting of a tennis star and a mild-mannered looney in "Strangers on a Train." In "Crystal Skull," director Spielberg ladles out loads of chatter about the McGuffin -- the skull's history, its mystical associations, its power over mortal man. Meanwhile, the audience is impatient and eager to get on with the story -- how is Indie going to retrieve the skull and extricate himself from one perilous situation after another?
It's great to see Harrison Ford back in fine form in one of his two signature screen roles (the other, Han Solo in the "Star Wars" films). The script has some self-deprecating bits of humor revolving around Ford's age (he's 66), but they're clever and not overdone. Assisted by countless stunt teams, Ford makes his way graciously through the action scenes, particularly a wonderful motorcycle chase across a college campus. John Williams' terrific Indiana theme is present throughout, making the action stuff all the more thrilling and bringing back memories of the first film.
Indiana is approached by a Marlon Brando/greaser wannabe named Mutt (Shia LaBeouf, "Disturbia," "Transformers") who wants help in locating his mother. She turns out to be Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) from the first Indiana Jones movie, "Raiders of the Lost Ark," and she's as feisty and spunky as ever. Mutt has a chip on his shoulder the size of a telephone pole, a short fuse, and a pocket comb he likes to moisten in other people's Cokes and run through his 50's pompadour. There's some good chemistry between Ford and LaBeouf, who share many scenes in the film. There's also a neat bit of repartee going on, even when the going gets tough.
Ms. Allen appears about halfway through the film and perks things up considerably, especially in a scene in which -- as captives of the bad guys -- Marion and Indie bicker, recriminate, and blame even as their lives appear in serious danger.
Ms. Blanchett has fun with her role as the humorless but agile Russian comrade, as efficient with a 50-millimeter machine gun as she is with a sword. There is a lot of comic-book villainess in her Spalko, but that is OK considering the tone of the movie. She certainly adds stature to the picture, mostly from her body of work. Here, after all, is Elizabeth I chasing Indiana and an elongated skull in an armored truck through the jungle.
For all its fun, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" lacks the overall impact of the earlier films. Spielberg is known for creating wonderfully visual scenes in his films. Think of "Jaws," Jurassic Park," and "E.T." These are movies in which the story is told largely through a series of carefully crafted images with a minimum of dialogue: the shark attacking a lone swimmer; the Tyrannosaurus Rex stamping the car into the mud; Elliott and friends escaping the police roadblock on their bicycles by soaring into the sky. In "Crystal Skull," the director plunks in too many static sequences of characters standing around spouting exposition we don't really care about. Spielberg has set a high standard for himself and other directors. I'm just sorry this is not Spielberg at the top of his form.
Rated PG-13 for a few scary images, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" has family appeal, is geared to attract a wide age range, and offers a neat roller coaster ride. Only don't expect the Cyclone.

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Paging Dr. Jones......

All hale the return of the good Doctor Henry Jones Junior!! Is seems that an eternity has gone by since we last seen Junior. He's back, albeit an old fogey, but still quite the adventurer! I am not into reviewing the films script, lighting, and all that other good crap. I just tell ya like I see 'em!
A fine movie, and a great adventure. He left us on a great note. PLEASE pass the torch onto Rick O'Connell!

Not perfect, but good!

It's been 19 years, as the press is fond of reminding us, since we saw Indiana Jones ride off into the sunset at the end of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Now after nearly two decades in what we shall call Indiana Jones and Development Hell, the man in the fedora is back in action!

And it is good.

Very good.

Not great, though. But it is better than Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, though not quite as good as the aforementioned Last Crusade. It comes close, though.

You know the plot by now. Indiana Jones goes looking for a McGuffin, while eluding the bad-guys. A simple formual that can work very, very well indeed. It worked so well with Raiders of the Lost Ark that Roger Ebert considers it one of the Great Movies.

As for how well it really works in this movie? Well, there wasn't anything about it I specifically disliked. Marlon Brando Shia LeBeoff does a good job of playing a rebel without a pause. It was nice to see Karen Allen again. Jim Broadbent was good, but along with Ray Winstone, his appearance was completely unneeded, though in the case of Winstone it was interesting seeing him after seeing Beowulf. Removing his character and Broadbent's wouldn't have changed the movie in any fundamental way, though it might've streamlined things.

Basically the only real gripe I guess I have can be summed up like this: It seemed like they were trying to hard. Like Lucas and Spielberg were saying, "Look! We can still make a movie that's good and popular! LOOK, DAMN YOU!" As a result, just about everything seemed to be set to eleven. This sometimes took the form of silly things, like someone surviving a nuke by a: hiding in a fridge, and b: being hurled miles away and not dying on impact.

There's also the fact that there didn't seem to be any real stakes in this movie. With Raiders and Crusade you had clearly defined objects. You knew what they were and what they'd do. You knew why it would be bad if the Nazis got a hold of them. That just didn't seem to be the case here. The franchise seems to work best when looking for holy artifacts. Maybe next time we can have Indiana Jones and the Spear of Longinus?

Despite this, it made for a good movie and I was pleased to see Harrison Ford up there doing what he does best. I'm hopeful there will be another movie, and I have great confidence that it will be even better than this one!

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Just a remake of "The Mummy"

Great action and effects, but the plot seemed all too familiar. . flesh eating bugs, collapsing pyramid, greedy friend getting left behind- I've seen this before!

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

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