Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (part 2 of 3)

The Action

The action set pieces are entertaining and complex. Watching Indiana run around on crates and chasing Russians, I found that it is one of the better action scenes in the movie. Indiana Jones is a bit slower and makes a few more mistakes that back in his younger days. The CGI is these scenes are a bit jarring in some places, but overall are done well. (There is an impressive atomic bomb explosion that

The sound department does a great job in this movie as well. The punches are loud and the explosions are louder.

You’ll be more entertained by the action than the kooky plot.

The Acting

Harrison Ford: He’s a little older and Ford plays Indiana as guy that misses the good old days of the 30’s and 40’s. One scene where he remembers fallen family members and friends is a touching. This has to be one of Ford’s better roles to date. (Remember Firewall?)

Cate Blanchett: Uh, she plays that Russian chick. I really didn’t like most of the scenes with her, but I didn’t hate her performance either. I did like the ant bit involving her legs though.

Karen Allen: Ah, yes Marion Ravenwood has returned. I always like her as the main female lead from the first movie. Sure she’s older, but I still love that wide, bright smile that she still has today. While her character doesn’t have much to do in this movie, Allen is still a welcome sight no matter the age.

Shia LaBeouf: Not a huge fan of his role, but he’s all right here. It is a riff off his role in Transformers though.

Ray Winstone: I really didn’t like his character at all.

John Hurt: Professor Oxley feels like a replacement for Indiana Jones’ father. He really does. Go back and watch the movie and you can see it. Hurt does a good job playing a crazy old man that is the gangs’ only way to discovering the secrets of the Crystal Skull. I just think it would have been more emotional for Indiana if he watched as Jones Sr. started to loose his mind instead of Hurt.

The Music

Legendary film composer John Williams returns to the series and this time he’s in old school Williams mode. There aren’t any of the random action cues he’s famous for in his later years here. This score is structured like his IJ scores from the past.

Here’s the best part; he brought back some of the old themes from the earlier films. The cool Ark theme returns at that beginning for a few scenes (hint, hint). And the ‘family’ theme from the Last Crusade makes an appearance too.

The newer themes are neat too. One theme, The Crystal Skull theme, is rooted in the sci-fi movies from the 50’s and 60’s, and it’s electronic.

It isn’t Williams’ best score, but it certainly is a throwback to his old days and a nice treat.