Hello and welcome to my review of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

First of, Indy IV, like the rest of the Indy saga is purely popcorn. Neither Steven Spielberg or George Lucas are asking you to go into the cinema and expect the answers to Life, the Universe and Everything. What they want you to do is spend two hours in a cinema and have a rollicking good time, laughing and thrilling to the spectacle on screen.

As far as I'm concerned, they achieve this.

You see, I'm a fan of these guys but I'm not one of those fans who has taken it on themselves to claim ownership of the thing they're a fan of, expecting them to tick all the boxes that they expect them to.

I either like something or I don't.

Simple really.

I don't get upset if things haven't turned out the way I may have expected them to or the story has headed in a direction I didn't want it to.

Star Wars, for instance (well, this IS a Star Wars fan site). While I may not have been as totally enamored with the Star Wars prequels as I'd hoped, there is enough in there to keep me fascinated. Believe me, episodes 5 and 6 weren't exactly what I expected but again, there was enough to keep me interested and to embrace all of the episodes as a whole.

I'd discuss my feelings about the Star Wars Expanded Universe but THAT, my friends, is for another topic.

You see, nothing can replace how I felt when I first watched Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope and the same goes for Indy...nothing can top Raiders of the Lost Ark for the first initial buzz I got from it BUT, like the other two films that followed, the Crystal Skull, works for me.

It's great to see Harrison Ford back as Indy, it's great to see Karen Allen and her gorgeous smile back as Marion Ravenwood and what a welcome addition Cate Blanchett is as Agent Irina Spalko. In the tradition of a long line of Indy Villains she does not pale in comparison.

Each Indy movie has its "Awww C'mon..." moment and number IV is no exception...Indy survives a nuclear blast by hiding in a fridge ? "Awww C'mon..."

BUT

I don't care, it just made me smile. (for the previous three films, think, `how did Indy manage to hold on to the submarine` in Raiders, `could anyone survive a drop from a mountain in a rubber boat` in Temple of Doom and `oh yeah, it really looked like Indy could survive a drop from a sheer cliff` in the Last Crusade).

I loved it that Dr. Henry Jones Jnr was part of the Roswell events in 1947, already taking him into the realm of sci-fi. Something that seems to have got a lot of people upset. Not me though.

I liked...

• the homage to Marlon Brando when we see Mutt Williams for the first time
• the use of Marcus Brody at the end of the bike/car chase, reminding us of the delightful comic turn Denholm Elliot brought to the Last Crusade
• John Hurt as Oxley
• the fact that Indy and Marion get married at the end of the movie
• the dynamic between Mutt and Indy and how it turns itself around halfway through the movie
• the flying saucer at the end, totally tying it in to 50's schlock sci-fi
• the nod to Star Wars with the line "I have a bad feeling about this"
• the look of the film, matching it to the previous adventures
• the music of John Williams
• the line "they weren't you Honey" and Marions subsequent reaction to it
• the action set pieces, the visual fx, oh the list could go on

Suffice to say, I truly enjoyed my two hours in the company of old friends again and they may be a little older but have lost none of their spark...wish I could say the same for myself!



Don't expect the second coming of Christ, just enjoy a great adventure from Spielberg and Lucas, they do make exceedingly good popcorn!!

it was really good the indiana jones fourth installment,i enjoyed it and will the rest of the times i go watch it XD

i've seen it 6 times already...it helps that I work in a cinema, otherwise I would be broke

Yeah Indy 4 was great. Not sure about the ending though.

Heh

Quite similar to the comments said by some people as they come out of the cinema.

I agree with everything you said in this post Palpy. As for the "Awww C'mon..." moments, I just reminded myself that these movies are based off the old serials, and that kept me laughing along and enjoying the whole thing...

BUT seriously, who makes a road on the side of a cliff?

All and all i thought the movie was good, but i was very disappointed. If this had been the third Mummy movie it would have been one thing but i was expecting a realitivly serious action movie with a good bit of humor mixed in. Instead it seemed like a comedy with a bit of action mixed in. I did like the movie it just wasn't what i had been expecting is all.

Looking back at this film now, I liked all of it, it was great. Not quite as good as the originals, but almost.

I saw it few weeks ago... Not very bad, but far away from others... I just hope it was the last, because if next continues to this line... [self-moderation]