Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I went to see this last night with little man, my brother and his girlfriend. We bought the tickets early anticipating crowds - which weren't really there. Eventually the theatre filled up but it wasn't filled by any stretch of the imagination.

The lights eventually darkened and up goes the vintage-looking Paramount logo and dissolves and suddenly we're in Nevada, 1957, and immediately the feel of that era is felt as Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog" blasts through the speakers.

The next two hours are set in motion and you're off on a rollicking, if somewhat familiar adventure. Harrison Ford is back as Indiana Jones, and although his hair is now iron-gray and the jawline perhaps not as firm, it's still the same Indy we all knew and loved from the original trilogy back in the 80's. He doesn't look like he's ever really left the role, and just seems to carry himself differently as Indiana Jones. He's great in an otherwise not-quite-as good-as-you-want-it-to-be film. Even someone who I find annoying - Shia LeBeouf - isn't bad as greaser kid Mutt Williams. All the characters here are well fleshed out and actually get great introductions save perhaps Karen Allen, who returns as Marion Ravenwood; she seems to have little to do, but what little she's given is pretty good.

Indy this time is embroiled in the midst of an adventure with his friend Mac (Ray Winstone) and a group of Russian soldiers and KGB agents led by nasty Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett). The Russians want Indy to find them something in a warehouse but not what they want it for, and the whole of the movie involves what happens next. It's hardly a secret to say what the object is as it's right there in the movie title, but what is it really? What's it for? What does it do? And why do the Russians want it so bad?

That's what the next two hours play out as and it's a lot of fun at first to watch it unfold. This is by no means Raiders of the Lost Ark; that I think was lightning in a bottle. However this fits in with the other two films which most people think aren't quite as good as Raiders. (I am not among them; I consistently list Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom as one of my all-time favorites.)

The movie itself is an odd one. Obviously there is some part of me that felt nostalgic going in and hearing the Raiders March playing on the big screen for the first time in 19 years, but can the movie itself live up to the hype in my head?

The answer is more complex than the question; yes and no. I think honestly for the first two-thirds of the film it's great. Lots of fun, plenty of action and humor to keep everything moving along. Spielberg is an old pro at this by now and it shows. There are lots of nods to the previous films and even one to the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles which is great if you watched that. All of that stuff is great too - and very nice to see. There are lots of action setpieces too - from the motorcycle chase with Indy and Mutt through the college campus to the sequences in temple ruins to the final battles - all great, great sequences. However it's the story that lets it down; the climax ends up sort of limp and what the crystal skulls are doesn't really feel like it belongs in an Indiana Jones movie. Of course it goes without saying that the soundtrack is a huge part of the film here too - John Williams does what he does and it's great here and doesn't feel too formulaic. I love his stuff and there's some great new themes, especially the haunting one for the Crystal Skull itself. Can't wait to have the soundtrack.

There are also a couple of corny moments that are really corny, so be prepared. You'll know them when you see them, and I did actually groan audibly at one point. In fact these points were enough to kill the film for my brother; he didn't really like it much at all because of them. I disagree; I think there is on the whole more good than bad, but as usual, your mileage may vary.

Jackson jumped up and down during the movie he was so excited; he said it was AWESOME and even wore my old Indiana Jones hat to the theatre if you can believe that! I had hesitated to take him since he's only 5, but then again my parents took us to see films like that when we were little and Patrick and I turned out okay. Plus he would have KILLED me had I left him at home - he's been DYING to see the movie ever since he saw bits of Raiders on TV and the action figures came out in stores. That unbridled enthusiasm was great to see in my son since it made me far more excited to see it than the trailers did!

It's pretty bloodless if you do have kids, but the smaller ones might be frightened by the a few scary scenes in a temple and some others with insects. There's lots of fighting and gunplay (well it IS Indiana Jones!) but it's not anything ultra-gory or violent, as you'd expect from Lucas and Spielberg.

Overall I enjoyed it despite its rather uneven ending and the 50's era Sci-Fi cold war stuff surprisingly works well in the early going. I give it a solid B+; not great but there's enough good here to warrant repeat viewings. In fact I may go and see it again this weekend!