May 30, 2008 05:25 AM
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Anyone who grew up in the 1980's knows who Indiana Jones is and what a great role model he was with that cool hat and nifty bull whip. I remember going out and buying a whip myself, but to my great surprise, only Indiana Jones could crack that whip with 100% accuracy and never hit himself on the backlash.
We waited with baited breath for the fourth movie to come out. Harrison Ford swore he would not play the great adventurer again. He getting too old now and why add to three already great movies, two of which were successful sequels? The result one of three categories: If are of my generation, you'll appreciate the movie but have some qualms: If you are like one of the(7) Ten-year-olds that I was with, you'll love it and might see it again; If you have not seen any Indiana Jones movies(and who ARE you?) you may or may not like it. I’ll look forward to your comment.
The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull begins with Indiana Jones in a United States Air Force storage facility, overflowing with the great treasures of the past. One would not know that there are treasures there, buried underneath layers of wooden crates. Only the audience knows that this is where a valuable Mummy is buried, the lost ark and other secret stashes. Jones is captured by the Russians, along with his old friend and partner, Mac(Ray Winstone). The two are let out of a trunk and made to find the Mummy, which we come to know is highly magnetized and surely easier to find. Jones uses a few tricks and quickly finds the crate. Finding it was the easy part, escaping is another adventure!
From there, Jones finds himself in 1957 America, inside a Nuclear test village, in the University Library on the back of a Harley Davidson Motorcycle, and in South America. As one would expect, there are some clever lines by Ford, great exotic locations, great period detailing for the ‘50’s and action! For me, that was about it! I loved Ford and enjoyed the movie for a good fun distraction but for me, the movie was over-contrived and surreal. Ford delivers to us Indiana Jones but I would have liked more “defense“ from him with his whip and clever moves that make him one of the best action characters of all time.
Shia LeBoeuf is Mutt, the motorcycle-riding greaser boy with not one hair out of place. I personally love LeBouef and think he has tremendous potential, but he overplayed certain parts and not all to his own fault. The direction was not “spot on.” His fencing/sword fighting sequence was implausible and from there he swings from tree to tree with the monkeys, like a monkey and I just chuckled.
My favorite character was that of Irine Spalko(Cate Blanchett, one of my top female actress choices), Stalin’s favorite Russian scientist. She is believably Russian with the perfect accent, Russian phrases and is just downright wicked. I am convinced that she should play more Villains in future films-The is fabulous! On the other hand, I was disappointed with Karen Allen’s reprisal of Marion, Jones’ sweetheart who could drink any man under the table and still stand up, from the first movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark. She has unfavorably aged and some of her dialogue was trite and cliché.
John Hurt as Professor Oxley was fabulous. An actor so great and who needs little direction. He plays the frumpy old crazy fellow-adventurer quite well. When we see him clean-shaven, it is hard to imagine him as he was.
One of my favorite parts in the movie is the “killer ant” scene. Giant red ants that are awakened and red-hot mad. They swarm all over and made every person in the audience squirm in their seats-And they just kept coming… That seems to be the buzz in the reviews of late and if you have seen the movie, you’ll squirm all over again, just remembering and if you have not, not to worry, you’ll still never believe the ant swarm and you’ll squirm just as much!
Accolades should be given to Steven Spielberg for the great ant direction(no pun intended) but the dialogue and direction of Allen and LeBouef is not his best work. Still, great cinematography of South America, the Amazon and particularly Machu Pichu in Chile and the authentic natives. I do recommend this movie. It is one of the more enjoyable movies that are coming out. I would have loved to have read this adventure as a book. My imagination would have delivered the magic of the great escapes, chases and fun. THEN, George Lucas could make the movie. At the very least, it is a topic of great discussion.
