Since Tina took vacation last week and I really want to talk about Indiana Jones, I'm going to break the norm here again and not do the usual movie review. Mostly because my film criticisms are usually technical execution and I'm not the best at creating "written" critiques. But also I have a severe bias towards Spielberg movies, so it's hard for me to hate his films. So, with that little intro, I will assume most people have seen the movie, otherwise expect spoilers from here on out. Although the spoilers are slight I assure you.
As I said before, I LOVE Spielberg films. He is possibly the reason I grew to love cinema today. And I have enjoyed watching his style morph over the years into a very powerful storytelling master. I love almost all of his films, except War of the Worlds, but one of the films I REALLY love and that sparked my film future was Raiders of the Lost Ark.
That movie freaked me out as a kid! Scared me to death! The giant boulder! The snake pit! The nazi's face melted! It was one of those darker action movies that blew your mind and stuck with you forever. It was amazing! But I loved it then because it was action packed and Indiana Jones was the man. It wasn't until years later that I realized Raiders is actually a beautiful almost perfect movie. Granted it's got old effects, but it is one of the few movies I feel illustrates what movie magic is all about.
So years go by and you can guess I am really looking forward to seeing the new Jones adventure, as is most of the world. Well, it's finally here. The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull. I watched it the day it opened, and again the next day just to make sure I didn't miss anything. So, Is it a good movie? Absolutely. Does it rival Raiders? Not a chance. Does it stand alone? Very much so. Does it ruin the original three films? Only if you want it to.
Almost every interview I've ever seen of George Lucas talking about Indiana Jones, he always says the same sort of sound byte *Lucas impersonation* "well uh, I always wanted to create a series that was like the old 1930's serial films, where every week was a different adventure" Now, if you can't except Indiana Jones as that role, I think The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is not for you. Crystal Skull is not the stereotype "stop the nazi's grab the artifact" movie that the Jones series (minus Temple of Doom) has been labeled by most people. This movie actually takes place in the 50's so no Nazi's in this picture. Nope, this time it's the Russians! The synopsis is this:
Cate Blanchett is leading this team of Communist Russians (through US soil with great ease I might add) in search for Indiana Jones and clues for the hidden kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Indy is met up with the young kid, Mutt (Shia LaBeouf) who tells him that an old friend of his is going to be killed if they don't help him. So they start looking for the Crystal Skull and guess who follows, the russians. The russians pretty much hold everyone hostage (in the nicest way possiible) in order to find the hidden kingdom. Surprise, they've also got Marion Ravenwood! Then there is more chasing and searching, bla bla bla, they find what they are looking for. We all saw that coming.
Lets break this film down shall we?
