Indy 4...the review...

With the return of this movie franchise, comes the return of it's main character, the iconic Henry "Indiana" Jones Jr. and his hunts for history. This story is no different. After his capture by some Russian soldiers and the evile scientest Iriana Spalko, he discovers that they now have control of a mind controling Crystal Skull. He is thrusted into their plot to take over the world, and must find a way to return the said skull. He is recaptured, only to find out that they have also taken his friend Professor Oxley, and his former flame, Marion Ravenwood captive as well. All of this forces the adventurer to once again go on the hunt for a mysterious item, and all that comes with it. This time, they have to deal with something not of this world. Aliens. That's all I will say, because you really should check this out.

First off, if you have never seen an Indiana Jones film, or just plain don't like them, then you may not enjoy this film. Especially the ending. It's so over the top and really out there, that even I, an Indy fan (not fanboy) had fun with it, but the two people I went with, really were annoyed by it. That said, there are a TON of things to enjoy about this film. Mainly the look and feel of it. The story is not about any heavy political subject, or any controversial discussion, so it's not current event-y (not really a word) or heavy. It's just an adventure movie. Januz Kaminski, the DP, is so damn good here. He did the first three, and he also did the AMAZING Diving Bell and The Butterfly last year, and he just continues stedily pumping great scenes out here. It has a glossy, almost fuzzy look to it, with a bright pallete and GORGEOUS scenery. The CG is not perfect, and some scenes are obviously computer aided, but it works here. You have to check your sense of reality at the door. There are quite a few shots that you just have to go with it. This is an adventure movie, and you have to go with it.

With the return of Indiana Jones, comes the return of Indy himself, Harrison Ford. He's not the best of actor, but he is solid, and really great here. There are the obvious jokes about his age, but it seems like he is having such a good time, and he still kicks some ass. The best performance here is Cate Blanchet. She is campy as hell as the Russian scientest, and her accent is so over the top, that you can't help but get a kick out of it. Shia is just playing Shia, and Ray Winstone, well, he's really just playing Ray Winstone. With all of this postive stuff, there are definitley a few problems with this film.

The biggest problem for me was the story. It's not bad, it's just really familiar. Granted, I don't know how much different they could have gone with it, but it's just to familiar. It's chock full of chases and fight scenes, and I just wish that they would have given Indy and Marion some more scenes together, as the scenes they had are just great. The chemistry between the two is great and I wanted more. Shia is sort of annoying, but it's not horrible, and the plot with Indy and Mac (Winstone), is so dumb and truly unnecessary, that I had no interest in it. It was played kind of like a plot device, and just that. There was a plot with the FBI, that just died, so there were a couple of things like that, and were really bothersome. Sometimes the jokes about Harrison Fords age were annoying as well. All this said, it doesn't totally hinder the film experience (something else certainly did, more on that in a minute), so this is a whole hearted recomendation from me. If you have seen the first three, and are a fan, definitley check this out. If you aren't, give it a shot. You'll have fun.

Grade: B

Okay, so everyone will probably see this movie. Hell, people who NEVER go see movies, are going out there (I'm babysitting for two of 'em). However, the screening I was at, was maybe half full. That all said, people need to learn how to go to the movies. Especially when it involves popcorn. However, all of the shit that those pretentious 20 somethings were saying and doing behind me, the trailers before this flick may be better than the movie itself. There were two in particular that really got me. First off, there was the first trailer for Zodiac, Fight Club, Seven, Panic Room director David Fincher's new film, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button starring Brad Pitt and the beautiful Cate Blanchet. It's based on an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story, and looks like it will certainly be up for discussion come it's release during Oscar bait season. Now, here's the trailer, but be warned, it is in Spanish. The only real talking is at the begining, and it tells you that he ages backwards, as the rest of the world ages normally.


I can not freaking wait.

The other one was Eagle Eye. It doesn't look nearly as good as TCOBB, but it could be good.



Please, go check out these trailers, and a really solid film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Oh, a new Hellboy trailer is fucking phenominal too...

Go see something good!