22 May 2008

Indiana Jones Review (Kingdom of Crystal Skulls)


Wow! Yup, a good 2 decades after the last installment of Indiana Jones, he's back! We (Middle-East) managed to get the movie in theatres before the US, so here's the first official non-biased review.

Indiana is back, and up to his regular doings; running around caves and graves, beating up bad guys, jumping from one thrilling stunt to another, and giving us a good laugh in between. He doesn't disappoint either; even with Harrison Ford at 64 years old, Indiana doesn't really look that much older than in his last movie, and he can still perform his good ol' action sequences.


Although not exactly an oscar winning story line, the movie is good fun to watch. The fighting and chase sequences are thrilling, and there's enough good old Indiana-esque humor to keep everyone smiling in between. I won't spoil the plot much, but it's set a good 10 years or so after the last movie, and the Soviets have captured Indiana, hoping he will lead them to a secret that could help them control the world (cheesy script, but it makes a fun story). From there onwards, Indiana reunites with old buddies, survives gunshots, giant ferocious ants, huge waterfalls, and even a nuclear bomb (don't ask, just buy a ticket and go watch the thing). There's also a whip, a snake, Indiana's famous hat (that he never lets go of, no matter what), an epic ending, and a few suprises in between.


The whole thing looks like it was filmed in the 80's, which is great in a world dominated by obvious CGI and digitial filming; it gives the whole movie a nostalgic feel, and though more advanced technologies are obviously used, they don't get in the way of that. Even the sound effects, which are overly exagerated (a small slap sounds like a rocket being launched) is just very typical Indy, and it's nice to see things are still the same.


Gripes; the first five minutes of the movie look like they were filmed in a studio (very very fake sunset), and the lighting is a bit too much. But that's it. Everything else just faded into nothing as we enjoyed the rest of the movie; overall, it's a very fun film, and a definite must-see if you're an Indiana fan.

8 / 10

(9/10 if you're already an Indiana fan)

6 comments:

Woozie said...

Soviets?

I'm sold.

Anonymous said...

I like the one with the Temple of Doom thingy :P That was funny :P lol :D Will check this out, thanks.

Dr. Shale bin Agnon said...

Okay, but Shia ThePuff is not a guy that other guys can look up to. This is my problem. Have my definition of manhood and masculinity is based on Indiana Jones. Shia is a non-entity.

Ammaro said...

shale; dude! he was too cool! rebel without a cause! right there man! and the comb and everything! (said in a sarcastic tone)

Semaj said...

I loved your review.

I really dug the 50's vibe from this movie. Him fighting Soviets was a good idea.

I really liked all the continuity touches throughout the movie to the earlier films. Such as a cameo of a certain item from the first movie sitting in the warehouse

Unknown said...

I loved it, saw it last night! Such a great movie and very well made! Entertainment factor was a pure 10/10!