|
|
FILM REVIEW
|
|
|
FILM REVIEW
|
|
INDINA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL
Sunday, May 18, 2008 Author: "Jett"
RELEASE DATE: May 22, 2008
Usually when I write a review, it’s pretty easy trying to put my feelings down on “paper” because I usually either like a film or I don’t. Of course, there are degrees of like and dislike, but generally it’s one or the other.
However, in the case of INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL, I found myself both rolling my eyes and digging it at the same time. If you’ve seen the previous three films -- especially if you grew up on INDIANA JONES and saw them originally in theaters -- you are going to enjoy this movie. Hell, if you are an Indy fan, I’m willing to bet that you are going to absolutely adore this flick. This film gives the audience exactly what’s expected and that’s exactly the reason I find myself in this like/dislike conundrum. Set during the Cold War and a decade (give or take) after the events of the first Indy trilogy, Indiana Jones finds himself taking on -- you guessed it -- The Reds! No, not that pathetic (but once great) baseball outfit from Cincinnati silly, the now defunct Soviet Union. Obviously, it's cool (and politically correct "OK") to make villains out of the Soviets again. Led by this Irina Spalko (Kate Blanchett) character, the Commies are after the “Crystal Skull” -- an out of this world (literally) power source that will allow them to create the next super weapon and surpass the good ‘ol U.S. of A. (I swear, every time Kate opened her mouth, I was thinking "Natasha Fatale!") To me, IJATKOTCS (Damn! -- That looks like an eye chart!) is a strange amalgamation of the original three INDY films, HAPPY DAYS, APOCALYPTO, and CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND. Teaming up with the good Dr. Jones (Harrison Ford) is the bad ducktail-sporting Mutt Williams (Shia LeBeouf) -- a Fonzie/Johnny Strabler wannabe, and Marion Ravenwood -- Indy’s original love interest from RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARC. Hmm, let’s see. Shia LeBeouf is in his early 20s, “Mutt Williams” is in his early 20s, and CRYSAL SKULL takes place some twenty years after LOST ARK. Do the (very predicable) math y’all! And that’s the whole deal with CRYSTAL SKULL -- it’s predicable, cliché, and, well, tired. If you’ve seen any of the original three, you know what you are getting and that’s what you get -- just twenty years later. The entire time I was thinking “Is anyone under the age of 30 going to give a rat’s arse about this film?” And I shouldn't have been thinking that! I should have been simply watching the movie. I don’t know if this movie is going to appeal to anyone born after 1989 -- which ironically was the year of the last INDIANA JONES movie. Alternatively, I liked it for its nostalgia and sense of closure (well, sort of) it brings to the series. Now I will say that the stunts and special affects are fantastic -- although I again question if it’s enough “video game,” if you will,” to appease the TRANSFORMERS crowd. To be perfectly frank, there just wasn’t enough “new” and originality here even for my crusty old self. It was pretty much RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK with better special effects and a RETURN OF THE JEDI ending. If that's what you want in this film, by all means go see it and you will not be disappointed. But DO NOT go and expect a reinvention of the wheel. Of course, it’s really hard for me not to like any film that opens to Elvis Presley’s “HOUND DOG." JETT'S GRADE: C+
GO TO
|
|
