Here is my review of the the new Indiana Jones film. Not too exciting as I agree with most of what Derek 8-Track had to say. Be sure to check out his review here.


The Awesome

It's great to have Indiana Jones back. He exudes a certain badass-ness that not many people do (probably just because he is Harrison Ford). Indiana Jones has always rocked the house and always been the ultimate idea of what to hold your film up to when making an action adventure film (Mummy, National Treasure, Tomb Raider, Sahara etc.). And this fact remains true: Indy will almost always have the edge just because of who he is. With that said - the movie surely fell short of being near the other Indiana Jones films in existence.

Another few things that I like about this film have to do mainly with the artistic elements of the film. The music rocked (of course, as always, John Williams wins), the jokes were decent, the action scenes were pretty great. The film also had this weird overall color scheme and style to it that was really neat. First, it really felt like I was watching a film that was meant to match (at least stylistically) the old films. The film grain, the lighting, the colors - they all worked great. Also, I constantly underestimate Shia LeBeouf. Every time I hear he will be in a new film it just makes me cringe, but he usually delivers. Some day maybe I will have to start giving this dude some credit. His character was awkward, but he played it well.

The Not So Awesome

Unfortunately for this film, the not so awesome's detract from parts of the film that would have otherwise been great. They also tend to ruin the atmosphere typically associated with Indiana Jones. It begins with the CGI, specifically the creatures. The plants and the cliffside were just fine and worked well, but every time CGI animals showed up, WOOF. It really disappoints me that George Lucas wants to put his oversized greasy sausage fingers all over everything he touches. If he would have just let Speilberg to his job, it probably would have been just fine. Lucas, unfortunately has a hard time steering clear of computers and bad ideas - and everything that he did to this film stands out like a sore thumb. Second, the first 25-30 minutes of this film were almost unbearable. Until Shia shows up on the screen, the film is loaded with poor dialogue, stale acting, and the lackluster re-introduction of one of the sweetest dudes alive. Lastly - Aliens and Spaceships? (notice it's Lucas again). I don't really have a problem with the fact there was alien mythology in the film, but did the crystal aliens REALLY need to turn into real aliens and fly away at the end?? I'm sure there was a better solution. And the last thing that bothered me was SPOILER BEGIN Indiana Jones in a refrigerator SPOILER END. It was just a dumb idea. The bomb was sweet, the fake town was sweet, but the flying through the air during an atomic blast in a refrigerator was lame.

OVERALL

I know it sounds like I'm being harsh on this film, but in reality I think it is because it owns the Indiana Jones name. It should be held up to higher standards that what typically is associated with action adventure flicks. The film has great style, a great vintage look to it, Indy and Shia rock for the most part, and it was fun. In defense of the alien plot - Indiana Jones was created as a throwback to the pulp comics and serial films

of Lucas' and Spielberg's day that surely featured plots similar to this film - so when you take that into consideration, it's not so bad. And lastly - thank goodness Shia didn't put on that hat. Remember what I always say about films like this, just because something negative was said, doesn't make it a bad film. It's still better that 80% of the crap that comes out. (X-Men III, Spiderman III, Star Wars Prequels etc. - all examples of films that are worse that others, but still good and better than many). Overall I give this film a 6 out of 10. I hear it gets better the second time around.