by Thomas Ferguson

Summer 2008 is quickly shaping up to be the season of the lackluster blockbuster. With only a handful of flicks in the marketplace, critical and commercial supremacy has gone to Ironman. The one movie destined to melt old Iron down to size is the Spielberg/Lucas juggernaut Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I don’t know Indy, the funds may go your way, but the fans are not so happy with your return.

Nearly twenty years has past and Harrison Ford is dusting off his old hat and unraveling the whip for the next installment in the highly successful Indiana Jones franchise. This time around, Indy is on a mission to recover a mysterious and potentially deadly artifact known as the crystal skull. This object has fallen into the hands of Soviet militants, led by Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), who believes it will unlock enormous power. As we all know, bad guys love their power…shocking!

After being double crossed by his friend, losing his job, and nearly killed several times, Indy gets a visit from a young tough biker named Mutt (Shia LeBeouf). This young stranger brings along a message from all old friend (John Hurt). This message contains a map of locations that will lead them to the skull. They end up in Peru and of course they end up in a heap of trouble.

 While on the run from Irina, they end up running into Indy’s old flame Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), who just happens to be Mutt’s mother. We all know where this is headed…Indy is a dad!  For Marion and Indy, the sparks begin to fly once again and so do the insults. If you’ve seen Raiders of the Lost Ark, you know what I’m talking about.  

Indy and company must endure the dangerous elements of the jungle, Communist Soviet gunfire, and of course each other on their way to the skull’s final resting place.

Indiana Jones played an important role in my childhood movie going experience. Temple of Doom, the second installment, remains my favorite action/adventure movie.  I, not unlike many of you, have been looking forward to this flick for quite some time. Unfortunately, Indy’s return has not been met with open arms. The movie’s Cannes Film Festival debut did not go as planned. Early critical and fan reviews have been mixed.  Regretfully, I have to side with the unsatisfied fans.

This movie’s fault lies in its unoriginal and unimaginative script. It is formulaic, but there is nothing truly interesting going on here. Just rehash of the previous installments. There were a couple moderately interesting action sequences, but each went way too far. It went from action to cartoon within moments. I know the previous movies were over-the-top, but this new version took things to the extreme. It felt as if they were trying too hard to be interesting, but falling miserably short in each instance, especially the “way out there” finale.

I did enjoy the family dynamic of Indy, Marion, and Mutt. Those scenes were quite effective. Overall, the movie just did not work for me. I was so disappointed. For me, it felt not unlike reconnecting with an old friend and both realizing simultaneously that you no longer have anything in common.