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OK, so I just got back from this -- had a blast. I really loved it, even with its few flaws. Overall, it was a joy to see a new Indy movie, and a pretty well-done movie at that.
I would say (and I think many will feel this way) that this film is on a par with Last Crusade and a little better than Temple of Doom. It doesn't touch Raiders, but what really can - since Raiders is a perfect film (in my opinion) and one of the greatest adventure films of all time.
The good: Spielberg's direction. Minimal CGI and lots of practicals (watch cave doors slide open and notice that they are actually mechanical doors that catch a little once they are done opening, just like in The Goonies or something!!). Marion is back, of course, and although Karen Allen doesn't give us any stellar acting moments (the script really doesn't give her any opportunities for doing anything other than bickering with Indy and giggling and smiling that he's back in her life). Shia LaBouf is actually surprisingly non-annoying as Mutt.
The script is actually pretty tight, with some clever exchanges between Indy and Mutt, and some great exchanges/dialogue bits throughout. Indy shows his professiorial knowledge off at opportune moments, and for the most part (see below) Harrison Ford recaptures the character very well. The writing was a lot better than I expected it would be; many snappy bits and situations, cleverly handled with more fluidity than the many negative reviews I'd read had led me to expect.
The not-so-good: At times (esp. in the first scene), Harrison Ford's acting seems a little....act-y. A bit self-aware of what he's saying and doing. However (and I'm not sure if this is due to most of the film being possibly shot close to in-sequence; as I think the first scene of the movie was the first scene they shot), he gets into the role much more about 1/3 of the way through the movie and stays firmly in that world, in that character, in that unique Harrison Ford delivery, for the rest of the film.
Also not-so-good: towards the end, a few unnecessarily long CGI scenes of buildings falling apart, cosmic stuff happening as the characters watch in awe. Also not-so-good: Shia as faux Tarzan being taken in & supported by monkeys in the forest, who seem to serve as surrogate Ewoks for one brief scene and help him fight his battles -- bizarre, but it was so random & hilarious in the middle of an otherwise well-done chase/fight scene that the whole theater just laughed at how bizarre at was and went with it (and this utterly weird bit is thankfully over almost as soon as it began, and then never mentioned again).
Also good: Nods to Marcus Brody (character from Raiders) and Sean Connery-as-Dad, although there are repeated nods to Marcus Brody that get a bit weird (one would think that the rolling head of a statue of Marcus would get to deck some bad guys, and it almost happens, but doesn't quite get there - and an amused look from Shia's character gets a stern "This isn't funny look" from Indy, which is odd because we, the audience, were about to laugh just like Shia until Grampa Jones glares us into silence to honor the dead).
The terrific: bits like Indy entering a car through a window from another car, punching a few people out, and then emerging out of the other side window of the car to join his compatriots, who have manuevered their car to the other side of the road. It was effing brilliant.
Cate Blancett was fine, although she never really gets to sink her teeth into her villainy beyond being the caricature that I'm sure she was directed to be. (She said in a press conference, laughing: "I apologize to all Russian people everywhere" [for being such a shameless 'evil Russkie' stereotype]
All in all, a terrific time at the movies. John Williams' score does all the right things, the 1950s period is well-captured and accented with 50s doo-wop songs, and Indy's connection with Mutt has something more than just a surface cheesiness (shades of Short Round, but a little better). Spielberg seems to be experimenting with soft-focus/glare lighting; whether it's to make our leads look less old or to give the sense of the 50s period is unclear.
I'm surprised that it got such a frosty reception at Cannes, opening night at the Ziegfeld in NYC with a crowd packed full of 20 and 30something was a raucous, fun, clapping & shouting bunch. Probably not something you need to watch repeatedly or see more than once in the theaters, but after seeing it this week, when this comes out on DVD in December I bet you'll be tempted, and many may actually plunk down the cash to relive the Great Indiana Jones Reunion of 2008. |
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