*G-Go

I was gonna put the actual title of the new Indy movie in the subject line but it won't fit. What is it with Lucas and stupidly long movie titles? He seems to enjoy tossing a lot of needless junk into his product, perhaps for the sake of merchandising or whatever, but "Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull" not only would have made a better title, it would have been more precise, since there really is no "kingdom" to speak of.

OK... so I've seen it three times now including a midnight viewing the second the film was released. And it actually does seem to get better with each subsequent viewing. If you haven't seen it yet, don't worry, there are no spoilers because there is no real surprise ending... in fact, the ending is a bit of a letdown, and I'm saying this as a rabid Indy fanboy.

Actually, if you just watch the film right up to the point with the monkeys, it's a masterpiece, not only in Indiana Jones lore, but in filmmaking itself; great plot, great humor, great pacing, really cool action sequences... you get the idea. But for me, this movie was like watching my favorite baseball team (go Dodgers!) in the process of easily winning game seven of the world series only to blow the lead sometime around the eighth inning; it just kinda falls apart in a collage of implausibility (even for an Indy movie), silly moments, non-chemistry (in terms of a romantic plot), some bad acting, unnecessary characters doing unnecessary things, and Spielberg's trademark forced happy ending.

Well, I WILL spoil one part of the film, but I only do so to warn those who haven't seen it yet that this particular point of the movie is not only its low point, but the movie never really recovers from it. There's a character named Mutt Williams (portrayed by Shia LeBouff of whom some say is the new James Dean. I wouldn't go that far, but the kid is seriously talented.), and Mutt Williams - in a pivotal action sequence - learns from monkeys to swing on vines through the jungle. He then subsequently charges in with (no, I'm not kidding) a monkey army to save Indy and company from certain doom. See, this would be where Indy 4 falls flat on its face and never really recovers, and it's a shame to say that, because right up until that point, it's an amazing film; one that was actually living up to its hype.

There is a taut subtext about America's reaction to the communist menace of the 50's that plays out nicely with Indy as more of a true American Hero than Superman was in HIS latest movie. This is punctuated by one of the most startling images I have ever seen in any film; Indiana Jones witnessing a nuclear blast from a very close vantage point. It's a scene that starkly recalled all my childhood fears of Nuclear War with the Soviet Union, and will forever be imprinted in my mind as the seminal image that represents all the underlying terror the world endured during the Cold War.

It's 1957, and Indy is an older guy these days; a fact made very clear at the beginning of the movie. He doesn't quite throw a punch like he used to (but he still can when it's needed), and he's a bit of a bumbler in some situations (Another nice subtext that indicates Indy is turning into his father), but he's still Indiana Jones. He's been tracked down by Mutt Williams, who has come to Indy for help because his mother and surrogate father have been kidnapped in the jungles of Peru... and I'll leave it at that.

Crystal Skull is a fun ride, and while it's not quite the same movie as any of the original trilogy, it does play out as a nice epilogue to that trilogy, sort of a "where are they now", with lots of homages to the first three films and one or two nods to Star Wars (In the classroom scene, check out the names of the Chinese Dynasties listed on the chalk board and note the name listed on the very top). The humor is excellent - the quicksand scene may be the among the funniest in any Indy film - and there is the usual scattering of British actors (Cate Blanchett, Ray Winstone, James Broadbent)...overall, despite the disappointment of an implausible action sequence near the end (those who have seen the movie will note that I am talking about the river scene, including the tree) a not-quite-believable romantic angle, and a story resolution that doesn't quite pay off... let me just say this. As a fan of good movies, I liked it. As an admitted lifelong fanboy of Indiana Jones ever since that day my dad took me to see Raiders Of The Lost Ark at the Squaw Valley Opera House Cinema in the summer of '82: I loved it.

And like I said, it seems to get better with each subsequent viewing.

PS: If anyone is still interested, yes I will be finishing Indiana Jones and the Simian Odyssey, especially now that I know that it will fit nicely into both the Indy and KP universes