Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
July 17, 2008
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Harrison Ford, Shia LeBouf, Cate Blanchett, Ray Winstone, Karen Allen
After loads and loads of rewrites and 20 years of anticipation, the newest installment of the Indiana Jones franchise could not have had any bigger expectations. Steven Spielberg and George Lucas were working carefully in an attempt to bring the normal quality of the three previous films with them in the making of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Quite frankly, they failed in making this film nearly as good as the others.
While this edition of the Indie (I hope that’s how you spell the short name for Indiana) does provide plenty of entertainment and Harrison Ford has the same wit and charm as he does in Raiders of the Lost Ark and company, there is something missing to this story. It doesn’t seem like the typical Indiana Jones story since it does deal with (if you actually haven’t seen this yet and don’t want to know this part of the plot skip this paragraph) certain things that Mr. Spielberg has dealt with before in his other alien movies.
In saying that Lucas and Spielberg failed in accomplishing the quality of the previous three films, however, I am not saying that this one is not worth seeing. I am giving this a minor recommendation with this warning: There are some very cheesy moments in this film that I was not really able to get over, one involving an atomic bomb, and another involving Shia LeBouf and monkeys. Yes, I say Shia LeBouf and monkeys. That is not a typo.
The bottom line is that the new Jones movie did not live up to the expectations it had gathered over the pas 20 years, but who really expected it to. So go see it, ignore the story, and have some fun watching a popcorn movie and Cate Blanchett having a fun time doing her crazy-german-woman role.
Kevin’s Rating: 2.5 out of 5
Speaking of Karen Allen, I wrote an unsolicited script for a Starman sequel back in 1998. It was my first script and I quit college to finish it. It’s been gathering dust ever since. I sent it to Jeff Bridges and John carpenter, although I would prefer if Carpenter didn’t direct a sequel. I wrote some good f/x sequences and some interesting characters. I’m pretty sure I’ll never be involved, but I’d to see the f/x scene from the beach being incorporated, (Jeff’s manager Neil will know the one, totally plagiarised from another movie, but it would look great on film today). If anyone has any questions, email me at hansenfilm@yahoo.ie and I’ll answer them. (Although I won’t give away any plot points. And yes there is a son and indeed, I actually have the perfect casting suggestion!!