Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

By : Stephen A. Hayduk
TeenNewsNet Movie Critic

        

    Okay, so it has been 20 years since Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have made an Indiana Jones movie. Lucas has done well with his Star Wars prequels, while Spielberg never releases a bad movie. But the question remains -- could they pull it off? 

    Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was an all around good film. It had all the action, explosions and fight scenes, all the emotions and all the comedy that you would want from an Indiana Jones movie. The reason I am calling it a good film and not a great film is because was this adventure necessary? Are some amazing series of movies better to be left alone?

    The fourth installment is about an old mayan civilization that praised these obelisk shaped crystal skulls. It takes place in 1957 during the Cold War. The movie starts out great, with a racing scene and then straight into a fight scene with Indy and his new counterpart, Shia LaBeouf. LaBeouf plays a greaser [Mutt Williams] whose father figure had been kidnapped, who just so happened to be an old college buddy of Indiana Jones. Harrison Ford's [Indiana Jones] acting was right on. Returning to the role 20 years later  he definitely still has it. Cate Blanchett [Irina Spalko] did a good job as the Russian psychic psycho but there were points where her English accent poked through like a sore thumb. 

    There's just one thing; this movie was the same exact movie as every other Jones film, regurgitated. This movie was nothing but more of the same. Okay we get it, Indiana Jones hates snakes. And instead of Nazis now Indy is fighting the Soviets.?

    Overall I would give this film a 7.0 out of 10.0.  It just doesn't have enough "wow" to score it above that.  However, it is still definitely worth the $20 for a ticket and snacks at the concession stand.