Um, yeah, so... wanna know my reactions to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull?Giddiness. First and foremost, there's giddiness. It was all I could do not to actually cheer when the Lucasfilm logo appeared on screen and I truly realized I was about to see Indiana Jones on the big screen for the first time. On the way out of the theater, I had to try very hard not to start skipping. Or jumping up and down. Even now, nearly 24 hours later, I'm still giddy when I think about it, full of giggles I can't suppress. I'm actually thinking about ordering an Indy t-shirt online. Yeah.
It's not a perfect movie -- it's nowhere near as brilliant as Raiders of the Lost Ark. But I'd put it on par with Last Crusade, and it's head-and-shoulders above Temple of Doom (which I've only seen once and, despite my devotion to both Harrison Ford and Indiana Jones, don't wanna see again). The plot is complex, but not convoluted, and my suspension of disbelief was only over-stretched once. I'll put more spoily comments below, but put them in white, so only highlight them if you've seen the movie or don't mind spoilage.
Okay, the only time my disbelief was stretched instead of suspended was when they went over the three waterfalls in their little WWII Duck-like vehicle. That did honestly make me go, "Yeah, right." Other than that, I could go with everything as much as any other Indiana Jones movie. The aliens, the weird power of the crystal skull to communicate if you look in its eyes -- I could deal with those. Even Indy surviving a nuclear blast by hiding in a refrigerator (and surviving being tossed around in said fridge a whole lot) -- I could accept that. This is Indiana Jones we're talking about, after all.
I went into this movie hoping to like it, and I did. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to like Shia LaBeouf, who I was feeling the most iffy about pre-viewing. He had a good presence, good chemistry with Harrison Ford, he wasn't snotty enough to tick me off, but had a nice slightly rebellious thing going on. Plus, what a great entrance he had, so hat-tipping to Brando in The Wild One. I laughed out loud at that, which made a couple of people around me look at me funny, but it just tickled me.
So yup, I dug it, I hope to see it again next weekend with Johnnycake and Dimples ( who were supposed to come up this weekend, but J got a cold), and I expect to own it on dvd. It gets only one Warhead, so hooray for Indy!
Reading through some of your old reviews right now... :)
ReplyDeleteI really agree with your opinion on this, except that I'd switch around how you compared it to the other films and say that it's not as brilliant as The Last Crusade, but definitely on par with Raiders. *wink* Though I probably like Raiders a leeeetle better.
Anyway, this is such a FUN movie. And I do really like Mutt. (By the way, ever since I read The Outsiders, I always crack up when I think of the diner fight scene. "Get that greaser!" =))
~Eva
P.S. I love how you call your brother 'Johnnycake'. :)
Eva, what fun! I love it when people dig up old posts, even if I sounded like a moron in some of the really early ones. And a pretentious moron, at that. But anyway, yes, it's just a fun movie. And not pretending to be anything else. I do love movies that just wanna be fun.
DeleteOne of the things that has always amused me greatly about this movie is how many elements it has in common with this Indy fanfic I wrote as a teen. Indy with a child he barely knows that he had with Marian, motorcycles, it's the '50s, and there are neo-Nazis. Cracks me up. I never actually send my story to George Lucas, but when I watched the movie, I was like, "Hey, did someone steal my story???"
PS That's been my pet name for him since we first read The Outsiders. I'm the only one who gets to call him that.
DeleteDigging up some or your old posts right now – I want to improve my American English (since I had to put the Open University Reading Courses I usually host on the back burner due to the "special situation") – and this is a REALLY entertaining way to do it ;-) I've already learnt some idiomatic expressions I didn't know! "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" was actually the very first DVD I ever purchased, right after I bought my very first DVD player (yes, VHS tapes until then... I'm a late bloomer in almost everything).
ReplyDeleteI quite like it, I think Cate Blanchett is terrific as the steely Communist lady. My favorite is "The Last Crusade" (oh, Sir Sean Connery, that scene when he brings the Nazi plane down by scaring birds with his umbrella...) and I really don't like "The Temple of Doom". The future Mrs Spielberg is chewing the scenery in a way I heartily dislike, I so much prefer Karen Allen – young and sassy in "Raiders" and a little older but still sassy in the "Crystal Skull"!
Andrea, oh, what a fun way to practice English! I dig it. Curious now about what idioms you've found.
DeleteRaiders of the Lost Ark and Last Crusade tie as my favorite Indiana Jones movies. And I like this one a lot too. But I can't stand Temple of Doom either! Ugh, it's so weird and has so much icky stuff, and so little good humor.
Karen Allen's Marion is the best match for Indy, and always will be.
The first DVD we bought was a set of season one of the TV show Angel, in 2003. Along with our first DVD player. So we were a little ahead of you. But we still have a VHS player and a few dozen video tapes, even now.
You should have a couple emails from me now!