Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
| Overall |  | Story |  |
| Production |  | Acting | |
Oh, Indy, Indy, Indy … If only we’d left you riding off into the sunset. It seems someone named this dog “Indiana” …
Myriad folks have commented in the improbability of various aspects of the tale. That seems an odd complain for what’s come before, but, really, it’s not. But overall, contributing to the sense (and the allowance) of incredulity Indy IV seems to suffer from a plot written and re-written too many times.
Or, put another way, this Indy seems (and general and in a number of specifics) more like the original Mummy (only a bit less coherent), which was in turn a take-off from the original Indy movies. Things just seem to happen, with not much more reason than that it’s time for something new and interesting to happen to liven up the tale.
As a result, not much makes sense, or is all that interesting because of it. Neither the regulars nor the newcomers are turning in their best work, hurt by the general incoherence of the plot and character scripting. When did Marian become a grinning ditz? When did Indy become so cranky and destructive? When did — oh, wait, everyone else is a newcomer, but all the less interesting for all that.
More enjoyable, probably, than Indy II — but only because that one was so unlikeable. But I really find myself hoping there won’t be an Indy V. Which is kind of sad.
Bottom Line: Glad I saw it, I guess, but I’m glad I didn’t pay (directly) for it.