Though not my favorite of the, now, four Indiana Jones movies, I cannot say this one was a dud. I rather enjoyed the subtle humor, the action was good (I do think there could have been more) and the characters were good.Overall I enjoyed Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I know a few people who have not seen it yet so I won't spoil. I will say that this movie is in true Indiana form. Chase scenes, nasty bad guys/girls, humor, light romance, lots of bugs and Indiana Jones being himself.
Personally I watch movies from a purely "I want to be entertained" side of things. You could probably critique this movie to death (two well groomed parallel roads in the virgin Amazon rain forest for the main chase scene) but why? Why not sit back, get the chill up your spine when you hear the IJ theme music for the first time in 20 years, enjoy your popcorn and let the action unfold.
Harrison Ford shows his age a bit at the beginning but it does not take away from the movie. He actually starts to look younger as the movie goes on. Karen Allen is back and she also looks older but since we have not seen her since Raiders, well, she is older. I really liked John Hurt in this movie. He plays 'Ox' (Professor John Oxley) who basically goes crazy after discovering the first Crystal Skull. He brings some good humor into the film.
Shia LaBeouf is pretty good in this film. Not to give to much away but I wouldn't doubt that he is being groomed to be the next Indiana. I will let you all decide.
In a nutshell, I thought the movie was fun. If you break it apart and look for things to pick at, you will most likely not like the movie. I suggest you not do that. It is fantasy, why would anyone expect that the movie should fall into real world scenarios? None of the IJ movies do, none of the Star Wars or Mummy movies do. Why should the Crystal Skull be any different?
