Regular Life

As some of you know, it’s become a bit of a tradition for me to see a new movie when our family visits my wife’s Tulsa relatives. While I typically take a few of the kids with me, this time I let them see Iron Man (which I already had seen) while their parents and I watched the latest in a line of movies whose last entry came in 1989.

I don’t usually do movie reviews, but as a big fan of the original trilogy, I’ll throw in my take.

Notice: there may be spoilers here, depending on how strict your standards are.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull does three things:

• introduces Shia La Beowulf Labeouf as the successor to Professor Jones’ throne of adventuring archaeologist,
• serves up a tough guy with whom Indiana must ultimately tangle in hand-to-hand combat, and
• goes sci-fi rather than supernatural.

Sure, it does more than that, but I figured three were plenty to cover here.

Since I first saw him in Holes, I always have enjoyed Labeouf’s onscreen presence and looked forward to his role in one of my favorite movie series. He did not disappoint, doing a fine job as a rebellious young man obsessed with his hair but perfectly willing to plunge into adventure. His track record proves that he will be ready to fill Harrison Ford’s shoes when the time comes.

Enough about the good guys. In how many movies does the lead protagonist meet up with a physically superior foe whom we know he or she will have to face alone at some point?

The new Indiana Jones flick is no exception. The tough’s demise is grotesque but visually impressive. Unlike the sudden shredding of the shirtless guy in the first Indiana Jones movie (wasn’t it the first one?), this is more of a dreaded eventuality. Despite the obvious warning and a few warmups for the death throes, a handful of moviegoers turned their heads and said, “Ewww.”

We have known since Close Encounters of the Third Kind that Spielberg does science fiction well (also see a little number called E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial). I have not seen A.I., but I’ve heard bad things, so maybe one good acronymn sci-fi movie was all he got.

My point here is that in previous Indiana Jones films, the supernatural abounds. ****SPOILER ALERT FOR ALL OF THE FIRST THREE MOVIES!!***** Nazis get their faces melted off by the Ark of the Covenant; a man watches his own heart beat outside his chest and a little prince gets turned into a mindless minion of the evil baddie; and the Holy Grail, guarded by an immortal knight, saves a life after a drink from the wrong cup makes a man disintegrate.

The fourth film tends to skirt the supernatural and head straight for science fiction. I was pleased with it, but less geeky moviegoers might feel alienated (come re-read this sentence after you see the film).

Some fan reviews point out so-called “plot holes,” or inconsistencies. I can’t go into detail without giving away far too much, but I can say that I thought of only one during the viewing and it didn’t trouble me for long.

The action is exciting and fun, as usual in this series, and the special effects are top tier. It’s nice to see these characters in a film using modern techniques.

Just as wonderful are the cool gadgets used for hiding (and revealing) the secrets throughout the movie. I can imagine the fun the engineers had coming up with them.

As fans of these films expect, the funny is there, too, and it’s nice to see Ford back in this role that he always said he gladly would play again.

If you liked at least two of the first three in the series, then give Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull a try. Compared to its predecessors it might not be as good, but it certainly is good.

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