REVIEW: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Mad Professah saw Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull at the Edwards Renaissance 14 in Alhambra on Memorial Day.

The movie is the fourth episode in a series that started with Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981, followed by Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989).

It's hard to decide how to review these "tent pole" summer blockbusters: dispassionately as films or simply as entertainment vehicles. However, it seems to me that if the film is "good" then it should be able to cause the viewer to suspend disbelief long enough to enjoy the film on multiple levels.

As my reviews for Iron Man (B+) and Prince Caspian (B-) illustrate, different summer blockbusters have different levels of success in this area of depicting implausibility.

The new Indiana Jones film falls somewhere between these two films in this regard. It does not start well, by having Indiana Jones survive being proximal to a nuclear blast as well as vastly over-estimating the power of magnetic fields.

However, as with most films that are not plot-driven, casting is exceedingly important in the success of Indiana Jones 4. Harrison Ford reprises his role well, although the standout performances are by Cate Blanchett as the villain and Shia LaBeouf as the sidekick.
The direction is exceedingly slick and the plot is preposterous, but overall the film ends up being a relatively pleasant diversion.

GRADE: B.