Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull [Theatrical Review]

Starring: Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, Shia LaBeouf
Directed by: Steven Spielberg

Let me start with a little story. I remember when I was about 10 years old sitting down with my dad to watch a VHS of his favorite movie. That movie, of course, was Indiana Jones Raider of the Lost Ark. After watching Harrison Ford swing around with his whip, and kill baddies I was hooked. I wanted to see if there were more, and when I found the rest I really wanted to see them. My dad was ecstatic to see that I was interested in the same thing he was! This love of movies lead me on the course to DVD and movie reviewing, so thanks dad! Ok, enough sap, on with the review.

Does Indiana Jones live up to the hype? In short, yes. I absolutely loved this movie. It seems some of my reviewing companions in the print world disagree. Which begs the question; didn’t you ever see the original movies? I think they missed the tongue in cheek throwback that was Indian Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I heard complaints like “Characters suddenly stand still, for instance, so special effects can happen around them.” (Claudia Pulg, USA Today). It’s comments like these that make my hair turn gray. This movie is in the style of the original Indiana Jones. It’s like if I were reviewing a Kung Fu movie and said “I mean come on, the bad guys only came at Jackie Chan one at a time!”

The plot in this movie is a bit convoluted, and just when you think it can’t get any crazier it does! This movie is the wackiest adventure of the series, and at just over two hours it kept me enthralled. The story takes place during the Cold War, and nobody knows whom to trust. You can count on tons of Russian baddies in this iteration. There’s even a bit of play on the A bomb testing that’s so famous from this era.

Cate Blanchett plays the over the top Russian villainess Irina Spalko. Her accent puts Natasha Fatale to shame, I’m not sure if that was her doing or the director’s but it definitely needed to be toned down a bit. Harrison Ford’s witty one-liners were perfectly contrasted with his intelligent dialogue. It seems Harrison Ford hasn’t slipped a step in 20 some odd years!

I was pleasantly surprised by Shia LaBeouf’s character of Mutt. It seems this Even Steven’s character has turned in to quite the actor. I’m officially making him my actor to watch. The reappearance of Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), Jones’ love interest from the Raiders of the Lost Ark, was unexpected, but well played. All of the characters in the Indiana Jones series aged pretty well which added to the movie’s charm

I don’t understand why print media is blasting this movie, but do what any normal person does and ignore it. Listen to a rational human being like me, and go see this movie! Seriously, stop reading and go see this movie now! If the summer blockbusters continue to amaze me like this, then this will be a movie summer to remember!