I went to see this movie today.
I saw all the other Indiana Jones movies in excess, each several times.
I found this movie to be technically on par with the previous movies. You may think that is a good thing, but it's not. It looks as if it were shot fifteen years ago. Except computer generation, none of the new cutting edge cinematography for action movies is present.
Remember when it was IJ vs nature vs traps and all the excitement?
That element is sadly underplayed in this movie.
The acting was SO BAD in the first 30 minutes I thought it was a spoof. I kept thinking, they should roll the credits anytime now and start the real movie.
Nope.
I don't know what happened, but Harrison didn't seem comfortable in this role at all. It was like watching a bad audition where the entire time you secretly cringe and are embarrassed for the actor.
I took an online poll before the movie. It asked me, "Is Harrison Ford too old for this part?"
I answered, "no."
However, there are a few scenes, especially at the beginning when his age just seemed to take center stage. And it wasn't intentional on the part of the director. He just moved old, too old for this part.
The first forty five minutes DRAG by with way way too much dialog by other characters aimed at propping up IJ. Why does he need words to do it? He is IJ....watching him be himself always spoke for itself.
Not so this movie.
The crystal skull is the worst movie prop I have EVER seen. It is a clear plastic alien skull with aluminum foil or clear plastic wrap where the brain cavity rests.
It looks no more like crystal than K-Mart plastic ware, and instead of being an artifact, I kept thinking, "Man that's a crappy prop."
Every time it was in a scene, I was forced out of suspended reality and reminded it was a medicore movie with really crappy props. (Well, that and the TIRED cliches. I spoke a few lines before the actor, they were so predictable and SO SO bad.)
The last fifteen minutes are the best part of the movie, but full of said prop. So you never really get consumed by the movie. I still heard crunching pop corn, heavy breathing, and wondered how much longer it could possibly last.
I didn't leave the theater feeling like I was coming back from a couple hours in another place...I left feeling like I just spent a couple hours in a cramped theater with a bunch of people watching crap tv.
Over all, this is the worst I.J. in the entire series.
The best parts are all covered in the trailer, in fact if the movie lived up to the trailer, it'd be a GREAT movie.
If you want to see it on big screen, wait for a matinee. I wouldn't recommend paying full price.
Out of four stars, I give it a one.
Barely.