Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Well, it’s been 19 years since the last Indiana Jones movie, and I’m not sure how any film could live up to the kind of expectations this movie has to live up to. And even though the latest Indy’s latest adventure, Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull doesn’t quite live up to those lofty expectations, it’s still one hell of a ride.
It’s a genuine thrill to see Harrison Ford reprise what is probably his signiture role, he has the same one liners and sheer sense of mischief we’ve come to expect and Ford is complemented by a pretty solid cast. It’s fun to see Karen Allen reprising her role as Marion Ravenwood, even if there weren’t any other returning characters from the first three movies. Also, Cate Blanchett makes for a memorable villain, even if the role that was written for her is a little one-dimensional considering what a talented actress Blanchett is. Even though I wasn’t terribly excited at first when I heard Shia LaBeouf would be Indy’s sidekick, I thought he was pretty good in this, I thought him and Harrison Ford had an interesting chemistry together.
However, the characters seemed to take a back seat to the action sequences towards the second half of the film. I actually kind of would have liked to see Indy and Mutt (LaBeouf’s character) interact a little more. Still, most of the action sequences are very entertaining, even if the story is a little hard to follow and kind of ridiculous. I know the Indiana Jones movies have always had a certain amount of fantasy to them, but it felt like there were times that this installment bordered on campiness.
So in the end, Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull sticks pretty closely to the Indy formula, and doesn’t offer all that much that we haven’t seen in this series already. Still, I think it offers enough thrills and excitement to keep fans satisfied and gives us a bittersweet farewell to one of the most beloved characters in American cinema.