I Saw the Latest Indiana Jones Adventure
Over the weekend, my partner and I went and saw the latest Indiana Jones adventure movie, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
For those of you who haven’t gone and seen it yet, I’ll try not to spoil it all, hence I’m going to go lightly on the details of the movie and opt for my impressions of it.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is of course the fourth in the Indiana Jones series which was created by George Lucas and directed by Steven Spielberg. The basic synopsis is this: Famed archaeologist/adventurer Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones is called back into action when he becomes entangled in a Soviet plot to uncover the secret behind mysterious artifacts known as the Crystal Skulls.
This particular adventure ties together a lot of fascinating legends, stories, myths and ideas together. One could say that it presents a theory (set in a fictional context of course) of who the gods of South America were and who was responsible for creating many of the mysterious artifacts and legends that are discussed about today by various researchers.
These are all things that interest me greatly and so I quite enjoyed the way the filmmakers tied it all together. They aren’t the first of course to do so, as many researchers over the years have come to similar conclusions. Still, I think it’s neat that these mysteries are presented in an adventure movie.
Personally, I really enjoyed watching this movie. There were lots of nods to the previous movies in the series and I think they tried to capture the feeling of the spirit of those episodes. As a matter of fact, I think they managed to pull it off. Its not a highbrow, intellectual work – never was. Saturday afternoon at the movie house, serial adventure fare is what these stories can sort of be classed as. And that’s just fine by me.
Harrison Ford of course reprised his role as Indiana Jones and I think he did a fine job of portraying an older more mature Dr. Jones. Another welcome face was Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood, who we haven’t seen since Raiders of the Lost Ark. Sneeze while you’re watching the film and you’ll miss the other big ‘Raiders’ reference. Actually, there are a number of references and nods to the first movie, but one in particular…
Before seeing this movie, I hadn’t checked the cast list, so I was quite surprised to realize that I was watching Cate Blanchett in action. John Hurt was another welcome surprise and Jim Broadbent is always a delight to watch.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a good way to finish off the adventures of Indiana Jones and one that I personally think one should enjoy in a movie theatre setting.
Related Links:
- Official Indiana Jones Site
- Indiana Jones on MySpace
- IMDB: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
