Review: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Posted by: Big Marv  •  May 22, 2008 @ 7:34pm

Filed under: Reviews

The Basic:

It took 19 years for George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford to reconnect and once again put together an Indiana Jones flick. This one has a cast that really mixes it up. You've got the return of Harrison Ford as one of the most iconic characters in movie history, and Karen Allen returns as Marion Ravenwood (Indy's love interest). Then you bring in great character actors like Ray Winstone and John Hurt, a femme fatal in Oscar-winning Cate Blanchett... and with them, you mix in Hollywood's new "IT" guy, Shia LeBeouf. So, you've got a strong cast, Lucas and Spielberg, and an already huge fan base. Let's get to The Breakdown!

The Breakdown:

Here's the story in its most basic form:

• It's 1957, Indiana Jones is older, and Nuclear weapons exist
• Russians get Crystal Skull with help from Indy
• Indy meets up with Mutt (LeBeouf) who helps Indy chase after Russians to help him find his mom
• Lots of chasing ensues... lots of escaping... Indy figures out a few puzzles
• Something bad happens to bad guys
• Greed is not a good thing
• Indy gets his happy ending

Now along the way, this is what we get:

• some incredible special effects
• some fantastic looking shots
• some LONG breathtaking action sequences
• lots of funny lines mixed in
• Shia LeBeouf swinging like a monkey
• and some of the biggest, scariest, smartest ants!

The Bottom Line:

I gotta say... as a kid I was a HUGE fan of Indiana Jones! The problem you face when trying to recreate a movie people grew up on is unfairly high expectations. I mean, a lot of us remember the movie based on how we saw it... maybe at Greg's birthday slumber party, at Auntie Tina's house at Christmas... for me, I remember my parents taking me. That's history you just can't recreate in 2 hours. But I also don't think you can judge this movie as if the others didn't exist. It's Indiana FREAKIN' Jones!

So here's how I see it. Some of scenes were far-fetched. The story was pretty basic. The action scenes were fantastic. The movie itself looked incredible. Did it live up to the hype? Probably not. "Thrill Ride of the Summer"? Thrill Ride? Yes. Of the summer? Nah. But all I know is, I had fun watching it. LOTS of fun! I felt like a kid again and I definitely recommend you catch this in the theatre!

The Grade:

I give this baby an A.

A+: Catch it opening weekend!

A: Make sure you see it in the theatres

B: Good, but you can wait for it in the cheap theatre

C: Wait for the DVD

D: Wait for it to be free on the movie channels

F: Don't ever watch it!

Tags: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Indiana Jones, Harrison Ford, Shia LaBoeuf

Related Posts

• Review: Ender's Game
• Interview: Indiana Jones costume designer Bernie Pollack