Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Writer: David Koepp (screenplay) and George Lucas (story)
Genre: Action/Adventure
Story
Indiana Jones is back after 19 years in the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. At the beginning of the movie we find Indiana Jones being held captive in order to get him to help the Russians find a certain box they are looking for in a secret Military warehouse. As the story progresses Mutt (according to imdb, but I was almost certain it was Mud) Williams (Shia LaBeouf) comes to Indiana Jones for help. He wants to save his mother (Karen Allen) and Professor Oxley (John Hurt) who Indiana Jones was friends with a long time ago. Professor Oxley went missing when he was searching for the Crystal Skull, which is said to unlock the powers of a golden city lost in the Amazon.
Everything Else
As is true with all of the Indiana Jones movies the story is not one that should really impress anyone. The series is all about the action/adventure and as long as that is what you are looking for then Kingdom of the Crystal Skull should be received well. The directing is solid just like it was in the first and third Jones movies and thankfully the special effects were good enough to not be a distraction like they were in the second film.
George Lucas does not disappoint and gives another wild story, which ends up having plenty of weird character interactions and humorous playful dialogue. This all stays true to the name and therefore makes this film fit right into the series. This is important when trying to make any sequel and especially when it has been 19 years since the last film.
The acting was good in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull with two great additions to the cast: Shia LaBeouf and Cate Blanchett. LaBeouf is coming along as an actor proving himself well in supporting roles, but still seems a little above his head in lead roles like Transformers. Nevertheless he did really well here in Indiana Jones and acted well right along side Harrison Ford. Cate Blanchett was a great choice to get a big name and obvious star talent added to the cast. Blanchett never ceases to amaze me with her range of ability. She plays a great villain in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and even puts on a thick accent to round it out.
The Real Deal
I enjoyed Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull thoroughly, but I think it could have been better if they had done it 5 years ago and been able to have Sean Connery in it. Shia LaBeouf was a great addition, but Ford and LaBeouf did not jive as well together as Connery and Ford had in Last Crusade. Still with all of the action and plenty of good acting Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was well worth making. I found it to fit into the series just right and would happily buy the Legacy when it comes out on Blu-ray. It is almost strange to be coming back to the series after so many years, but Lucas did it with Star Wars and I can’t help but see some similarities between the Indiana Jones series and the Die Hard series. Steven Spielberg will surely be content with leaving the series the way it is now (or maybe not).
The Short Version
Raw Score: 811,293
Sharon Movie? Yes
5/26/2008
Sharon Movie: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
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3 comments:
I keep meaning to ask you, what's with the raw score? Is that out of a million? Or is it just a joke? I had fun at Indy 4 but I thought it had some serious problems. In my mind there's a big difference between "made-up" and "contrived". There was a little too much of the latter. And I just laughed at that one line near the end: "the knowledge, it was all about the knowledge." Now that's deep.
I really enjoyed this film too, even though a bunch of my friends are damning it to hell, and saying it is "a disgrace". I keep wavering between giving it 3 1/2 or 4 stars on my blog!
p.s. I would have sworn they said Mud in the movie too! and that was like the one time they used his name. Heh, that scene where he rides his cycle in through the mist was great, haha.
Scituate -
The raw score is a little confusing, but it is certainly not meant to be a joke. It is on a million point scale and I do this for all of my movie reviews except short films. I just don't want to be stuck with a situation where too many movies have the same rating. I want to be able to differentiate. It will likely be a while before I am able to review a million movies.
For the Indiana Jones series as with other movies like Star Wars it is difficult for me to give the raw score because I base it off of how well made the movie is. Indiana Jones is well made and the last one is too, but it is cheesy. It is supposed to be though so that is why there is a higher score than if I thought that Spielberg did not make it just the way he intended too. Tough call, but Spielberg gets the benefit of the doubt.
Joe -
I really don't see how anyone could say this was a disgrace. Certainly it is not as good as the originals, but it sure beats the second film. I guess this is one of those things where if you are overly critical of something it is sure to disappoint. Indiana Jones is not supposed to be a great movie; just an entertaining one. That is exactly how they did it here. Entertaining and lighthearted. I had to give it high scores for its ability to fit into the series well.
The scene where he rides the motorcycle through the mist was hilarious. In fact the whole audience laughed when I saw it the second time.
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