Overview
- Director: Steven Spielberg
- Company: New Line Cinema
- Release Date: May 22, 2008 (USA)
- Rating: PG-13 for adventure violence and scary images
- Runtime: Approx. 124 min.
- Website
Synopsis
The newest Indiana Jones adventure begins in the desert Southwest in 1957 – the height of the Cold War. Indy and his sidekick Mac (Ray Winstone) have barely escaped a close scrape with nefarious Soviet agents on a remote airfield.
Now, Professor Jones has returned home to Marshall College – only to find things have gone from bad to worse. His close friend and dean of the college (Jim Broadbent) explains that Indy’s recent activities have made him the object of suspicion, and that the government has put pressure on the university to fire him. On his way out of town, Indiana meets rebellious young Mutt (Shia LaBeouf), who carries both a grudge and a proposition for the adventurous archaeologist: If he’ll help Mutt on a mission with deeply personal stakes, Indy could very well make one of the most spectacular archaeological finds in history – the Crystal Skull of Akator, a legendary object of fascination, superstition and fear.
But as Indy and Mutt set out for the most remote corners of Peru – a land of ancient tombs, forgotten explorers and a rumored city of gold – they quickly realize they are not alone in their search. The Soviet agents are also hot on the trail of the Crystal Skull. Chief among them is the icy cold, devastatingly beautiful Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), whose elite military unit is scouring the globe for the eerie Crystal Skull, which they believe can help the Soviets dominate the world – if they can unlock its secrets.
Indy and Mutt must find a way to evade the ruthless Soviets, follow an impenetrable trail of mystery, grapple with enemies and friends of questionable motives, and, above all, stop the powerful Crystal Skull from falling into the deadliest of hands.
And once again, Indiana Jones sets off on another adventure to solve and ancient mystery… The new Indiana Jones movie has the same adventurous and slightly dangerous feel as the previous ones, bringing back the classic fight scenes and heroic dialogue.
Compliments
What is cool about this film was that it has an “older” look to it, as if it is a direct continuation of the rest of the series, which it is. The acting starts a bit slow and awkward at the beginning, but Ford picks it up as the movie moves forward. A thing I might note is that even though this new movie has some new themes, the storyline adheres closely to the previous ones, which, although might be a bit boring for fans who are opting for a “modernized” Indy, might be delightful for Indiana Jones diehards.
Criticism – WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Although this movie returns to its roots in terms of its style, it seems a bit too unrealistic. For an example, Indiana Jones miraculously manages to survive a nuclear explosion less than a mile away by barricading himself inside a refrigerator. Granted, the refrigerator was composed of high lead content, but even when he climbed out of the fridge, Indy walked back to watch the fabulous mushroom cloud…and escapes without a hint of radiation. Also, the film becomes almost monotonous after a while. Many of the movie’s scenarios are reminiscent, almost identical to those of the previous films. Like the Raiders of the Lost Ark, the treasure that the characters seek become their downfall, as something “beautiful” becomes terrible. Even the way the villains perish is familiar. The most glaring part of the movie was that the storyline leads to nowhere. There is no point or purpose in the way the movie ends and many people say that it does not make any sense. Lastly there was a bit of cussing and much fighting and violence.
Conclusion – WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
I would like to state something. Some people have criticized the movie because it presents the Russians in a bad light even though, in reality they made great contributions to the world in terms of technological development. I am not too sure regarding this issue, but we must remember that in the fifties and sixties, the “red craze” of McCarthyism was alive and well throughout the world, and I think the writers wanted to tie in the space race and Sputnik into the film. There is also the question of whether or not there was going to be another Indiana Jones movie. Although Indy seems to have a successor, at the end, he took his signature hat back, which suggests that this is the end, but we will see. Anyways, I think Harrison did quite a good job in terms of acting in comparison to my expectations. But overall, I think the film’s storyline killed it.
Ratings
- Acting: 9/10
- Cinematography/Photography: 9/10
- Morality: 8/10
- Plot/Storyline: 7/10
- Music/Score: 9/10
- Overall: 6.8/10
