Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull review

Directed By Steven Spielberg

Running Time 2 Hours and 4 Minutes

It's about freaking time.

After years and years of development trouble and script problems, Indiana Jones has finally returned to the big screen. Being such a huge fan of the series, I was frothing at the mouth to see this. I even watched the original trilogy the night before to get myself ready. Now, the big day has finally arrived, I plunked down on my seat, ready to watch the fourth Jones adventure.

Crystal Skull takes place nineteen years after Last Crusade. His father and friend are dead, yet he is still finding himself in grand adventures. This time, he is kidnapped by Russians, lead by Colonel-Doctor Irina Spalko, to go to area 51 to find a mysterious magnetic package that contains the remains of a dead alien. After a daring escape, he returns home to find that he has been fired(or in their case "Indefinite Leave") from his job as a teacher. Before he could leave his home and go elsewhere, he is found by Mutt Williams, a cool yet cocky teen, who was sent by his mother to find him. One of Indy's friends has been captured, and they try to figure out what happened. Naturally, they run into the Russians again and are captured. It is at the camp, Indy reunites with old flame Marion Ravenwood, who is also Mutt's mom. After that, action ensues.

While Raiders and Crusade were more adventure flicks, and Temple delved into the supernatural, Kingdom decides to base it's plot on 50's science fiction films. What struck me upon seeing the movie was the way it was shot. Though filmed in 35mm, the film looks like it came out of a dream, as the colors are soft and rather whimsical. Though Speilberg said the film used only 30% CGI, alot of the action scenes were CG aided, though there are no dreaded CGI stuntmen, there is a lot of blue screen work in three of the action scenes. The CGI is also not perfect, but I gave that a pass. Why? Well, it looked like that's what they were going for. The CGI stayed the same quality for the whole film, so it might have been intentional. Considering that the film is supposed to be a throwback to cheesy Sci-fi, it made sense to me.

The film could have also been a bit tighter, a couple scenes ran on for a bit longer than needed, but the film usually makes up for it later.

Now that these nitpicks are aside, let me tell you what I thought as a whole.

This film was awesome.

Not only was is great to see Indy on the big screen again, but the film was also a hell of a lot of fun. It felt very much like a Jones film. The tone seemed to be in tune with Crusade and Raiders. There we a lot of nods to previous films and even a Star Wars reference. Harrison Ford fit back into the role as if it never left him. He might be 19 years older, but he's still Indy. Karen Allen does a great job reprising her Marion role, and Shia LaBeouf is fantastic as Mutt. I was afraid Mutt was going to be the next Jar Jar or Short Round, but he was never annoying, and kind of reminded me of Indy in a few scenes.

Though mostly CG aided, the action scenes were great. A jungle chase that occurs more than halfway through was spectacular, though there is a hokey scene in there involving vine swinging and monkeys, the sequence as a whole was great. That sequence had almost everything you could ask for in a chase scene. The opening sequence was excellent, and the climax of that scene, while physically impossible, was a real treat to watch.

The film isn't perfect, as it's apparent at the beginning of my review, but that doesn't make the film any less fun. The film was a rollicking roller coaster ride from beginning to end, despite some small dips. Some Indy fans might criticize the CGI and some story choices, but for those other people who just want to see another adventure starring everyone's favorite archaeologist, then you'll have a blast.

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