The plot concerns Indy looking for some crystal skulls with some of his friends. The myth is that the skulls need to be returned to their original resting place, and that the person who does so will be given powers beyond belief. It’s pretty standard Indy plot in that respect.

I may spoil some surprises here, so if you haven’t seen the movie, please stop reading.
If you take the scenes individually, there is a lot to like about this movie. There are some pretty spectacular stunts, voracious ants, deadly snakes, waterfalls, villains, etc. etc., and the movie really catches your eyes from beginning to end. Oh, there is also an atomic bomb blast. But I think that in going for spectacle, the makers of Indy 4 lost the heart of what made the first and third films so very wonderful: the magic and myth of a great story, a tightly worded script and characters that you could root for and against.

In several spots, during this film, I caught myself thinking ahead, and invariably I was right. For example, 1) Bad lady with a sword. 2) Kid who likes playing with knives… surely these two shall meet in a dashing fight of steel against steel. And of course, the heroes are being chased while driving a car that looks like a boat on wheels. Where do you, oh reader, think this chase is going to end?

And this was the first Indy I can recall that stepped into a big puddle of cheese. Even Harrison Ford looked embarrassed when he uttered the line: “The skull told me.”

The cheese occurs again later when a “friend” of Indy’s falls over for no apparent reason and Indy has to use his whip in a completely “non-save” situation that immediately develops into a “save” situation. It’s supposed to occur the other way around guys!

Finally, this is the second climax to a movie recently that was just so-so for me. Remember what a big letdown National Treasure was ultimately when it came to the payoff? It felt that way with Indy IV. I wasn’t impressed with the climax at all.
Please understand me that I really enjoyed 85% of this movie. It is still better than most of the summer movies I’ve seen, especially counting was a horrible summer last year turned out to be quality wise. I guess I just hold Indy to a higher standard. I saw the first movie when I was in first grade, so in a sense I grew up with Indy. The first movie is perfection… it was nominated for a best picture for gosh sakes. The third movie was almost as good.  In my heart and in my mind Indy was always this amazing creature, this thing on a pedestal. It’s sad to see his legacy tarnished by such an imperfect finish.

So, in order then:  Raiders, Last Crusade, Crystal Skull, Temple of Doom

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The fourth movie for Indiana Jones has hit it big. Since the movie’s opening on Thursday, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has made an estimated $311 million around the world.

It marked the second biggest Memorial Day weekend opening in history, behind only Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End which made $153 million domestically from Thursday to Monday last year.

“Adults really drove this opening. This is one of their favorite franchises and they couldn’t wait to take their kids with them,” Rob Moore, president of Paramount Worldwide Distribution told the Reuters.

Source

I saw it with fellow Flickscribe writer Kevin (and some friends) so it will be interesting for both of us to post our overall reviews. I’ll be working on mine. Don’t rush me okay?

Well, as Indiana Jones hits screens today and TIME.com Hollywood reporter Rebecca Winters Keegan has just published an open letter to George Lucas that is interesting to say the least.

Dear George,

The first Star Wars movie I saw was The Empire Strikes Back, and it rocked my kindergarten brain. At one point I had a modest collection of figurines, which mysteriously disappeared in the Trail of Tears Winters Sibling Room Swap of ‘83.

Now that we’ve established my bona fides, let’s get to you, George. For the third act of your career, you’re gonna need some Jedi managerial advice. You came up with Star Wars and Indiana Jones in the ’70s. You invented all kinds of super-cool technology that revolutionized moviemaking. And now it’s time to use the force of your experience and nearly $4 billion net worth to leave Obi-Wan and Dr. Jones behind and tell a story you thought of after the Carter Administration. I know you can do it.

I’ve got an easy five-step plan:

1) Take a page from Hitchcock and hit the tube: I’m thinking a half-hour weekly sci-fi and adventure anthology series called “George Lucas Presents.” Let the snobs think you’re making pulp TV. Just like Rod Serling did on The Twilight Zone, you’ll get away with all kinds of subversion.

Source

You can read the rest of the letter at the source link above, but her main focus question was: “George, isn’t it time to move on? Don’t you have anything else left to do in your career besides recycling your old movie franchises?” I suppose that she doesn’t realize that George simply brings back these characters because we love them. They’re iconic and have actually shaped our society. Would you have geeks standing outside Best Buy with robes and lightsabers without George? No. Would you have a rise in fedora hat sales or floating cars without George? No. Okay…that last one doesn’t exist, but it will darn it and that will all be due to George. You’ll see.

So far, reviews are very positive for Indiana Jones and the Kindom of the Crystal Skull. 

The movie opened in Cannes on Sunday, and will open everywhere else this Thursday. 

I am trying not to read them because I don’t want the surprise spoiled.  But if you are the kind of person who peeks before Christmas, see the links below. 

Review 1

Review 2

Review 3

The new poster for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull shows a clearly non-human skull. If you add in the trailer scenes that have been shown featuring a crate stamped Roswell New Mexico, then you have all the makings of some mysterious adventure. I’m really looking forward to joining Dr. Jones again for this one.

1) Shia is playing a young Indy. Why I think this:
I think we can all agree this is Harrison’s last go at Indy. He is way too old to make another.

Yet the franchise makes tons of money, and it’s a great story.

So, the reigns must be passed to a younger actor.

It wouldn’t make sense to have Shia LaBeouf as some random dude off the street. He is the guy who is going to take on the story in future movies if this one goes well (which, unless someone completely drops the ball, it will be). Therefore, there has to be an emotional connection for the audience.

Typically, this means Shia would be directly related somehow. We have seen him in the trailer interacting with Indiana Jones, so the first thought everyone has is Shia is Jones’ son. HOWEVER:  Which has more appeal? Indiana Jones Jr. or a Younger Indiana Jones? You guessed it! Definitely a young Jones.

As mentioned in an earlier post, George Lucas has said he thought of the MacGuffin when he was filming an episode of “Young Indianna Jones”, specifically when Harrison made an appearance.

In the trailer, Shia asks Indy “You’re a professor?” and Indy says “Part Time!” If he was the love child of Marion and Indy (even if she never told Indy about their son) she surely would have told their son about his father.

Currently, Shia is being billed as a scruffy sidekick to Indy.  If this is true, do you really think they would have had the above conversation?  I don’t think so! 

The rest of the guesses come from #1

If Shia is a Young Jones:

2) The MacGuffin is time travel. This is the only method you could use to get the two together.
The box on the trailer that the glasses hit says clearly “Roswell, New Mexico.” Of course, everyone has heard of the famous “alien crash” there. So, this means:

3) Alien Technology is the means for the time travel.

So, those are my thoughts! Drop us an email or leave a comment below if you disagree or agree.

This new poster for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull features the real Indy instead of the painted one we had last time. It really doesn’t matter because tons of people are going to see this movie. In fact, he’s going to get a whole new generation of fans. I wonder if fedora sales are going to boom again.

This nice comic book cover for Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull turned up online recently from Dark Horse Comics. It looks pretty sweet, but what’s with the sword?

E!Online has a larger sneak peak image from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull showing Harrison Ford and Shia LaBeouf that Keven mentioned earlier. You can see some other movie sneak peek shots at their site.

Sneak Peaks Gallery