Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 10/14/2008 Run time: 122 minutes Rating: Pg13
Nearly 20 years after riding his last Crusade, Harrison Ford makes a welcome return as archaeologist/relic hunter Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, an action-packed fourth installment that's, in a nutshell, less memorable than the first three but great nostalgia for fans of the series. Producer George Lucas and screenwriter David Koepp (War of the Worlds) set the film during the cold war, as the Soviets--replacing Nazis as Indy's villains of choice and led by a sword-wielding Cate Blanchett with black bob and sunglasses--are in pursuit of a crystal skull, which has mystical powers related to a city of gold. After escaping from them in a spectacular opening action sequence, Indy is coerced to head to Peru at the behest of a young greaser (Shia LaBeouf) whose friend--and Indy's colleague--Professor Oxley (John Hurt) has been captured for his knowledge of the skull's whereabouts. Whatever secrets the skull holds are tertiary; its reveal is the weakest part of the movie, as the CGI effects that inevitably accompany it feel jarring next to the boulder-rolling world of Indy audiences knew and loved. There's plenty of comedy, delightful stunts--ants play a deadly role here--and the return of Raiders love interest Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood, once shrill but now softened, giving her ex-love bemused glances and eye-rolls as he huffs his way to save the day. Which brings us to Ford: bullwhip still in hand, he's a little creakier, a lot grayer, but still twice the action hero of anyone in film today. With all the anticipation and hype leading up to the film's release, perhaps no reunion is sweeter than that of Ford with the role that fits him as snugly as that fedora hat. --Ellen A. Kim Stills from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Click for larger image)
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.0 / 5.0
Weakest...??:
I don't know about that! To me, "Raiders" will always be the lame one of the bunch! "Raiders" suffers from the same flaws that "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" and "Batman" did: all dazzle and no substance. This one has the same non-stop action, character development, humor and incredible situations and juxtapositions that made "Temple of Doom" and "Last Crusade" so entertaining. You know the story by now: Indy's closest buds are now dead, (his dad, Marcus,) and Sullah is nowhere to be found. However,... more info
Oh yuck:
A good friend of mine bought himself a Blue Ray player and a big old TV and then, as you do bought a couple of movies to watch and invited some friends over. I was the only person that went along for the show and about 20 minutes into this film I began to squirm. Sequels get a bad rap, but this was unnecessarily bad. If you want to watch an Indiana Jones movie got and buy a copy of Raiders of the Lost Arc and sit back and enjoy it, this is not even close to being in the same class. What you get instead... more info
disappointed:
It's too bad that the movie was pushed as a classic Indiana Jones film. It's not. It plays off the others, but the story is lousy. The Fate of Atlantis would have been a much better story. The effects are too computerized. They look too smooth. It looks more like toy story than good artistic filming & effects.
absolutely horrible:
Possibly one of the worst movies ever made, dare I put it right up there with WATERWORLD? I tried, I really tried but no matter what, I hated everything about this film. Everyone involved with this film, should be ashamed of themselves! It is time for Harrison Ford/Spielberg/Lucas and Co. to just stop and smell the Bengay. They are too old and this franchise ran it's course, as had STAR WARS. Move on or retire, please for the sake of all of us. And Shia Lebouf? Please, please, let Transformers 2 be good,... more info
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