review: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
1 CommentIn a fit of honesty I’m going to admit it… I don’t really remember much of the old Indiana Jones films. I think Indiana Jones is cool but honestly, I really don’t remember what happens in any of the films and I never really watch them when they’re on TV. There, I said it, I’m not really a fan. With that out of the way, on to the review…
I was looking forward to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, I was quite disappointed with Iron Man and it’s going to be a while till a new Transformers movie (yay!) so I was hoping Indiana Jones would do the business… It kind of does, I liked it anyway, it was a big bag of popcorn fun but it was no Transformers, no siree.
Anyway, to be honest, there isn’t that much I can say about Indiana Jones I think. I’m sure you all know the story by now, an intrepid professor who globe-trots around the world stumbles into trouble and then takes off to try and solve the great mystery. Unfortunately for him he keeps bumping into people who want him dead.
Reviews on the whole have been quite mixed I think, quite a few people don’t seem to like the end, not the very end… the other bit… and it’s really put them off the film. Personally, I’d read a good bit about crystal skulls a few years ago from a variety of sources so I was fairly familiar with where the legend goes so sure, no bother. Also I’m ready to forgive all kinds of outlandish stuff and even inconsistencies as long as it’s entertaining and Indiana Jones fits the bill there.
What did I like about it? I liked the relationship between Marion, Mutt and Indy, I thought that was done well. Shia LaBeouf was great… and I’m not just saying that because he was in Transformers. Not really sure what Indy’s buddy was doing there (the guy at the start, I forget his name) but sure whatever… I don’t really let surplus characters annoy me too much either. There were also a good few great action scenes, some people were saying it looked over CGI’d, personally I didn’t notice that much and apparently there was less than in the usual blockbuster so I’ve no complaints there.
Oh, I never commented on Harrison Ford! He totally still has it. 😉
Anyway, I’m waffling again… final score – a solid 7/10.
Nice review Nicola. If there’s an Indy 5, the search for the “macguffin” or artefact needs to be more threatening. here, he finds the Skulls and… well that’s it, no traps, no.. nothing.
And Shia le beouf taking over the reigns, no way. Harrison or nothing. Some of the lines, acting, reactions just didn’t do it for me. Spielberg said during production that “every shot of this film, I’m making for you, the fans”.
So, why then do we feel so let down after waiting so long. Sure, our expectations were so high, he couldn’t possibly meet them, but he could have met us half way. And John Williams score is poor to say the least. Maybe Howard Shore for Indy 5.