Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I have been looking forward to seeing Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull for awhile now. If you're like me, you grew up watching Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (with the oft-parodied opening sequence), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. This Indiana Jones flick comes 19 years after the last one with a lot of hype to live up to.

Directed by Steven Spielberg and co-written by George Lucas, the film picks up with Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) during the early 1950s. Indy is brought back into action when he is persuaded by the Russian antagonists headed by head, bad KGB bitch, Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett) to help them find a crystal skull. He is aided by a young man named Mutt (Shia LaBeouf) who asks for his help on behalf of an old, archaeologist friend. Karen Allen also reprises her role as Marion Ravenwood from the first Indy movie. I don't want to give away too much more of the plot.


This has a bit of a different feel than the other Indy movies, because the previous three took place during the 1930s with the Nazis being the antagonists, with the exception of Temple of Doom. This film takes place during the Cold War during the height of the arms race, so it still has the Indy feel with a bit more modernization. The other Indy movies also dealt with biblical type mythology and ancient tribal rituals with the sought after articles being the Holy Grail and the Ark of the Covenant. The sought after article and material dealt with in the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is also new and different, but I won't say anything more so as not to spoil it.


Everybody was great, I thought. I know there was a lot of talk about the new Indy movie and jokes about him being in a walker and such, comparable to Robert Carradine in what my friend calls Kung Fu: The Arthritis Continues. I loved that they brought Karen Allen back rather than find the aging Indy a romantic interest 25 years younger like a lot of films do (Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones, anyone?). Shia LaBeouf was a great addition, too, and he is growing into one hot piece. He's gone from the dorky, but funny kid, Louis Stevens in the Disney series, Even Stevens, to the next up and coming big screen heart throb. His first appearance in the film has him looking like Marlon Brando in The Wild One. Cate Blanchett and Harrison Ford rocked as usual.


Overall, I enjoyed it. The special effects and stunts were awesome and it was action packed. I had a discussion about the film last week with someone who voiced their concerns about a "Star Wars level fuck up", in reference to what loyal Star Wars fans considered the immense let down of the highly anticipated Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. I can't say for sure how rabid fans of the first three Indiana Jones movies will feel about this one, but overall I'm hearing from people, "It wasn't quite what I expected from an Indiana Jones movie, but I liked it". I concur.

From two different parts of the film when Mutt views Indiana Jones as a "teacher".....

Mutt: You know, for an old guy, you ain't too bad in a fight. What are you....80?
and again after some classic Indy stunt work....
Mutt: You're a teacher??
Indiana Jones: Part time.

More ramblings to come.....