Shanna and I just saw Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. There was plenty of that Indiana Jones charm, and Harrison Ford seemed to pick up right where he left off with the last film.
Originally, I was worried that it would be all computer graphics driven, and that it would lose the feel of reality, but barring a scene of swinging on vines in the jungle, it wasn't too heavy on the CG.
What I always liked about the other movies was that even though some of the actions scenes were hairy and crazy, they were still plausible. Could someone hang on to a rope bridge after it had been cut? Maybe. Could someone avoid a rolling boulder and then escape from natives with poison darts? Maybe. Could someone survive a tank going off a cliff? Maybe.
This fourth movie however was full of too many ridiculous, over the top stunts that were not believable at all. This left very little suspense, as you knew that no matter what, the entire team of heroes was going to come out unscathed (the refrigerator scene in particular).
The story was interesting, but rushed. I felt that there was just too much action to pack in, that there was not enough time left to develop the characters and the story. My biggest beef with the film was that there was very little down-time. The moments of dialog with Sean Connery, the gross dinner scene at the Temple of Doom, the bar in Nepal. There was plenty of slow time to develop things in the other movies, but not in this one.
Overall, it was entertaining and met my expectations, but predictably not better than any of the other films.
