Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was fun to watch. Is it worth full-priced admission, or should you wait for a cheap matinee or for it to hit a dollar-theater??? Well, that's up to you I suppose.

It IS a big screen movie for sure. There is a lot of great action, starting pretty early on and continuing with great regularity throughout.

Harrison Ford delivers. He just IS Indy, and the guy has some of the best facial expressions in the business. All of the other characters carried their own weight as well. There really weren't any slacker performances to be had. They also did a nice job of addressing the real-life death of Denholm Elliot (Marcus Brody), and the absence of Sean Connery (Papa Jones).

So, what'd I think of the movie then...after all, dear reader, that's presumably why you're here.

It is, at least at this point in time, my least favorite of the Indy flicks. Raiders and Grail were just better, more engaging movies. They seemed better fits for the character. Ancient religious lore just worked really well. Temple, well, it had the ancient mysticism bit, but just didn't feel quite as well done as the other two. This fourth one, well, if just didn't scream Indy. Spielberg, yes, but not Indy.

What follows contains spoilers. If you haven't watched it yet, and don't want to know anything about it, above this line is a great place to stop. You've been warned...

The plot line of this installment would've been better suited for X-Files. Spielberg does like his alien movies, and I realize Lucas is probably the guy responsible for the story, but I wish they had reconsidered. The Mayan bit, great. I just wish they would've found some better storyline than they did.

The quick synopsis...after a highly improbably nuclear explosion survival, Indy is drawn into the search for, and mystery behind, a legendary crystal skull. Upon first real glimpse, you can surmise pretty quickly that the thing is alien in origin and that's where this is all heading. Apparently aliens were responsible for the at-the-time ultra-advanced lifestyle of the Mayan population, and this skull, if returned to its original location, would unlock an ancient power. They of course do all of this with the expected results...ie. the bad guys (Russians this time) chase 'em all the way, eventually get what's coming to them, and there is no proof left at the end that any of this happened.

The lead-up to the nuclear blast was action packed and great fun. There is an excellent chase leading up to departure to South America. There are mysterious tunnels, caves, and such. A great chase through the jungle. Big frikkin ants. Waterfalls galore, and an intricately designed Mayan pyramid and chambers. Fun to watch, just not as memorable as the others. Just not as...Indy.