Review "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"

When three Hollywood heavyweights who are known to make things happen get together you can expect three things. Big box office revenues, excructiatingly large media hype, and a mediocre sequel. Indy had all three with a vengeance. When George Lucas is one of the three, you can also expect a little too much sci-fi where it doesn't belong. Let me disclaimer the following review by saying that the newest Indy installment will be on my DVD shelf immediately upon it's release, despite my beefs with the genre-mixology.

It was with warm fuzzies that the opening scenes of the Crystal Skull washed over me. I was pleased to be in Dr. Jones Jr's company once again. The aging Harrison only made Jones more appealing and experienced, albeit a bit more subdued. The movie built up the plot and suspense immediately, and drew the audience in. The film introduced some interesting new characters while bringing back the old favorites with a passably natural feel.

My main issue with the film was the introduction of all things alien. The film asked a lot of it's audience as it attempted to bridge the disconnect between the historical and the inter-dimensional. The cross breed of archeology mixed with alienology didn't sit well, as the archeology seemed to take a back seat in this particular case.

Spielberg's visual storytelling remains at it's peak, however, George Lucas' name is all over the CGI monkeys that dance their way across Shia LeBeouf's Tarzan act.

Despite a rather flat ending, and some less than appealing throwbacks to Jar Jar Binks, this film is worth the watch for anyone who is a fan of the Indiana Trilogy, or anyone keeping track of Mr. LeBeouf's sky-rocketing career. All in all, it lived up to my entertainment expectations, though I was secretly hoping to be blown away