Review of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) by James B — 24 Aug 2015

The original Indiana Jones films were inspired by the adventure serials of the 30s and 40s, the time period in which the films took place. It makes sense that the new Indiana Jones would take a similar route and be based on the alien b-movies of the 50s, right? I can't wait for the Indiana Jones movies starring Shia LaBeouf as he battles Dracula in space during the 70s and then fights computer viruses in cyber-space during the 80s.

That aside, this movie has too much going on and expects us too have way too much faith in things we never see and just get mentioned in passing (eg Oxley's backstory, Mac and Indy being close friends). The action sequences are just plain silly, hiding in fridges, swinging from vines, motorcycling through a library. I did like that there was more mystery to the treasure they were searching for, but in the end, it was just aliens. The first three films were all religious and mythological, but with this film they just decided to go with aliens. Really changes the viewing experience from "I'm watching an adventure take place" to "I'm watching a movie".