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Last Updated: Jul 10, 2008 - 12:32:05 PM |
*** out of five
Sly did it with Rocky and Rambo. Christopher Nolan did it with the Batman franchise. Have Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford been able to recapture the magic and revitalize the Indiana Jones franchise?
Oh yeah.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull starts of in 1957, 19 years after Indy’s last adventure. As the Nazis are now just a page in history, Indy faces off against a foe equally as menacing.
The commies.
With the U.S. in the midst of Cold War hysteria, Indy is kidnapped by Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), Stalin’s fair-haired girl, to recover a priceless artifact from Area 51. Escaping from the communists, Indy falls under investigation from the federal government for assisting the Reds and is put on an indefinite leave of absence from his role as a professor. As Indy prepares to leave for London, he is stopped by Mutt (Shia LaBeouf), who needs Indy’s help to find his mother (Karen Allen), who has been kidnapped by the commies. Agreeing to help him, Indy and Mutt set off for Peru to find Mutt’s mother and search for the mythological Temple of Akator.
Ford may have aged considerably since his last foray as the intrepid explorer, but he is still able to deliver the same performance that made the first three films so memorable. Indy still jumps, dives, swings, and punches plenty of villains from moving vehicles. There is also great chemistry between Ford, LaBeouf, and Allen, leading to some hilarious moments throughout the film.
In a time when CGI has dominated the movie scene, Spielberg has wisely opted to minimize the use of CGI to help keep the tone from the original movies. The only noticeable CGI effects were in one scene with a group of monkeys, but overall, it was a nice change to see a flashback to the old way of making movies.
No Indiana Jones movie would be complete without great action scenes and breathtaking scenery and The Crystal Skull delivers on both. From an atomic blast in the New Mexico desert to a car chase through the jungles of Peru, the movie moved along at a brisk pace, showcasing plenty of action amidst a backdrop of gorgeous backgrounds.
If there are any gripes with the movie, it’s that there are a few plot holes that appear throughout. However, few, if any, of those detract much at all from the film as a whole. Since Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Indy franchise has set out to make fun movies and this one is no different. It is just a great movie to sit back, relax, and enjoy.
If this is the final installment in the Indy series, it’s a pretty darn good way to end it. After nearly 20 years, there’s only one thing left to say.
Welcome back, Indy.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has a runtime of 124 minutes and is rated PG-13 for adventure violence and scary images. It was viewed at Carmike 10.
nderatto@villagepublishing.com | 751-0421
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