Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal (PG-13)
Mike:
Scott:
Scott: Tonight we are reviewing Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
, the long awaited 4th installment in the adventures of Indiana Jones. This chapter finds our hero going against the KGB in the search for a mystical crystal skull that can control the world, in other words, business as usual.
What did you think Mike?
Mike: I'm sorry to say that the best movie of the summer is still Iron Man. I'm afraid that Indy is not going to be the blockbuster that everyone was hoping for.
I liked this film, but I didn't love it.
How about you?
Scott: I was upset with it. It wasn't an Indiana Jones movie; it was just a regular old summer action movie, and not even a good one at that.
Mike: I think it is a good action movie, beautifully shot, but it seems to be missing the heart of the original Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Scott: I was expecting Ben Gates from National Treasure to show up all through the movie. Since the sets from that movie made appearances, or appeared to, I figured he would show up as well.
If you rename the main character and put in any other action star the movie would be the same. Heart, is the least of what it was missing.
Mike: Unfortunately, because of the long wait, there is no way this movie could live up to expectations. I had fun, but I did feel like I had seen a lot of this before. There are no amazing scenes like Indy being chased by a giant boulder.
Scott: I saw a little of The Mummy, X-Files: Fight the Future, and National Treasure - both original and sequel, in this movie.
Mike: The movie also could have used a stronger villain. I love Cate Blanchett, who plays Irina Spalko, but she is not nearly as menacing as the German villain is in the original movie.
Scott: I kept waiting for a main villain to show up. I was disappointed in her. I was also disappointed in Harrison Ford. You know that I think he is getting too old for this character. His reflexes are slower and his speech is slower too.
Mike: I don't agree with you there. I liked that Indiana was playing his age, and at 65, I think he's in pretty good shape. He was acting his age.
Scott: It sounded to me like his speech was slowed; he didn't have the smooth flow of the earlier Jones.
Mike: The problem with him playing his age is that the film is set in the 50s, which isn't as interesting to me as the 30s. I felt like I was watching Back to the Future in parts. They didn't even take the logical step of giving the movie the feel of a 50s monster movie.
Scott: Yes, Back to the Future fits perfectly with how it looked. It really looked that way in the one of the earlier scenes.
Mike: There are some great scenes that I won't spoil here, that make the audience cheer or laugh, but not nearly enough for an Indiana Jones adventure.
Scott: Shia LaBeouf, whom I really liked in Transformers was so-so here. He was supposed to be a James Dean character, but he's not that tough.
Mike: He has some pretty good fight scenes. I like Shia, but I am not too thrilled with him, if he is being groomed as a replacement Indy. I would rather they just stop with this one.
Scott: They have another movie to make apparently. I think the next one will be about them finding God or something.
Mike: Are you saying that this one isn't about that? Just kidding.
Scott: They tried to recapture that Indy magic of the 80's but failed on so many levels. The script was poorly written. Many of the jokes were jokes to Indy fans -which was nice- but many others fell flat on the audience
Mike: The other thing that is missing is any other characters we recognize. I know some like Dr Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliot) are missing, because they are dead.
Scott: Very true. Where was John Rhys-Davies? He's still around. And he's in two sequels for Anaconda - clearly he needs the work
Mike: If you have seen any commercials, then you know that Karen Allen returns as Marion Ravenwood. It’s nice but it’s not enough.
Scott: She just looked happy to be in a movie again.
Mike: During the press for this movie they made a big deal about Ray Winstone, who plays Indy’s old friend Mac McHale, but I don't see it. He was not very impressive and he still owes me for the stinker that is Beowulf.
Scott: I remember him from something, but not that. I thought he was over acting the role.
Mike: John Hurt plays the other unknown old friend Professor Oxley.
Frankly, I would rather have seen a movie of the back-story they keep referencing. It would be cool to see Indiana Jones fighting World War II or working for the OSS.
Scott: I thought the effects were ok. I especially liked how they blue screened Ford's walker. That was some fancy FX.
Mike: Be nice. You might live to be 65 one day yourself young fella.
Scott: I think the movie was asking too much of Ford. He isn't the same guy and shouldn't keep doing the playing the same characters.
Mike: It’s obvious that this movie was written by bunches of people. I think they have been working on the screenplay off and on for the past 19 years. I'm not really sure who to blame the script on.
Visually, I think Steven Spielberg does a great job with what he has script wise.
Scott: It took 19 years and yet it seems like a rush job. I really felt they lifted from other films and that watered this one down too much.
Mike: Once again, the music is by the great John Williams. We hear many familiar themes, but I didn't notice anything really new or outstanding in this area either.
Scott: I was just going to ask if there was any new music or not.
Mike: I am sure there is, but nothing really sticks with you.
Scott: How do you rate this?
Mike: I give this movie a 3 overall, but a 2 as an Indiana Jones movie. It's not the worst, that honor still goes to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, but it is certainly not the best.
And you?
Scott: I give this a 2.5 overall and a 2 as an Indiana Jones movie. I think this is better than its predecessor, National Treasure: Book of Secrets... oh wait, wrong sequel. Temple of Doom is still better than this.
Mike: I know many people say that this sequel was unnecessary, but I was glad to have Indy back one last time.
