Review: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Ai ai ai. Where sequels dwindle down in quality after the second or third sequel (see Spider-Man 3 and X-Men 3), Indy had been doing quite well, every chapter as memorable as can be. Maybe it has something to do with the nostalgic eighties, but this last chapter, doesn’t quite seem to get the same feeling out of it. As a result, it feels like a big disappointment.
Where the previous ones were a continuous laughing riot, or had some memorable relationships (be it the girl, the shorty or the father), this one serious lacks in that apartment. While I’m no fan of punch lines heavy scripts, it’s exactly this that made all the Indy flicks work so well. Anyone remember the “No ticket” scene ? Hilarious, and that’s with only two words.
This movie also doesn’t have the same energy or speed or broad script and feels a little bit wooden (and that’s not only because of age). The excitement just isn’t there anymore (it was all the way up to the first minute of the movie though).
Maybe not noticable to all, but from a technical standpoint, I’d say it’s quite embarrassing that this product is from the hands of Lucas/Spielberg. Unlike the superbly well done effects from The Minority Report or War of the Worlds, the effects here are extremely noticable. Not only seems integrating effects into the scene a rushed job, extensive use the virtual sets bothers me too (too obvious lighting artifacts makes it obvious they’re inside a filming studio). This I would expect from mid-range budgeted movies, but at $185 million, it’s pretty high priced.
Then last but not least, the sci-fi ending doesn’t fit well at all. Maybe I wouldn’t have mentioned it if the other defect weren’t there, but this just tops the disappointment.
Of course, that’s not to say it’s utterly boring, because it’s still a mildly entertaining action/adventure. It just doesn’t compete with the best out there, that’s all.7-.