I went to see the new Indiana Jones film last night at the midnight showing at my local theaters. I am a huge Indiana Jones fan so I couldn’t wait to see the first new film in nearly twenty years. I was a bit nervous since I really wanted it to be a good film. Twenty years is a long time to be away from Indiana Jones and I didn’t know if Spielberg, Lucas, and Ford could pull it off. Well I am happy to report that my pessimism was not needed. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a great film and a welcomed addition to the Indiana Jones saga.
I don’t want to give any spoilers but the one thing I will tell you is the style of the film that you should expect. I read an article a few months ago on the Vanity Fair web site about the new film (one of the few reports or articles I did read about this film) and one of things the article talked about is the style of all of the Indiana Jones films. In the 1930s one of the popular film genres was the action serial. When Spielberg and Lucas went to make the original Indiana Jones films, they attempted to make them in the style of a 1930s action serial since that was the time period the films were set in. With Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the film takes pace in the 1950s. Science fiction action films were popular in the 1950s and so Lucas and Spielberg decided to make the film in the 50s sci-fi style. The style fits the films quite well and makes it quite enjoyable to watch.
If you are thinking that Harrison Ford is too old to be playing Indiana Jones then you are completely wrong. He did a fantastic job and to me it felt like he never left the role. The story made the appropriate adjustments to compensate for the twenty year gap. Shia LaBeouf and Karen Allen did excellent jobs in there respective roles.
Since the film takes place after World War II, the Nazis are no longer the enemy but have been replaced by the Soviets. While the Soviets are a worthy opponent to Indy, I think they could have been made a bit more villainous. Cate Blanchett played the primary soviet villain but I don’t think she is as memorable as some of the Nazi villains that Indy has faced in previous films.
So the bottom line is to definitely see this film as soon as you can. You will not be disappointed.