Indiana Jones & The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull [2008]

Indiana Jones & The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull

Director: Steven Spielberg

Writters: George Lucas & Jeff Nathanson (Story), David Koepp (Screenplay)

Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Cate Blanchett, Ray Winstone, Shia LaBeouf, John Hurt

Reviewed By Sarhan "Tsar" Rashid

"Fool me once, shame on you. If fooled, you can't get fooled again."

~ George W. Bush

The return of a childhood hero always overwhelms me with nostalgia. The euphoria results in blatantly biased adulation. A mark of true devotion perhaps but also a deep seethed weekness in a wannabe critic. The dizzying number of familiar characters returning to the big screen has hardened me to.

Having been burnt one to many times in the past I took it upon myself to approach this review from as neutral an angle as I possibly could.

With that said I'm sure fans of the series will be happy to learn atleast this viewer/fan/critic (not necessarily in that order) with this action-adventure. Though not so much as an Indiana Jones action-adventure.

With pulsating action and lighting fast pacing I couldn't help but be swept away on the adventure. The brisk progress in the story and quick introduction of old and new characters only aids the wafer-thin plot from sustaining the viewers interest. I'm not complaining too much though. Plots have never been a strong point of this series.

What sets this series apart from the National Treasures and Mummies has always been their ability to transport us to a different time, exotic locations and jaw-dropping action. Can't complain about the first two as Skulls does a reasonable job on both accounts. It's the action is the greatest tragedy here.

Abundant, and intricate, set pieces are squeezed into the running time but all the modern day technology applied to create these scenes just makes them mechanical and obviously unbelievable. Viewers were never dummies to be fooled into believing a stunt person was never doubling for Harrison Ford in the more perilous stunts from past installments but very thought of an actual breathing, living human being putting their life and limbs at risk, even under tested and controlled conditions, took my breath away. Here we get an obviously green screened chase sequence. Imagine how much more thrilling it would have been if it were shot with real elements and REAL stunt people?

In many ways Indy IV is very similar to last years Die Hard IV. Both are very good films in their respective genres. Perhaps even passable entries in their own franchises but ultimately they are only shadows, pale shadows, of past glories.