Celluloid Butter

Having been born in the early 80’s, like so many others in my generation, I grew up watching the Indiana Jones series. So of course I was both excited and a little concerned with Spielberg and Lucas reviving the series almost 20 years later, considering they are notorious for changing their previous masterpieces for the worse. However, after viewing the film, this Memorial Day weekend, my concerns were calmed and my excitement was satisfied. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a film that holds up to the high adventure standards of the first three.

One of my biggest concerns, going into this film, was Ford’s age being too much of an obstacle to overcome and we wouldn’t see the whip swinging, snake fearing, hero that we have come to love. Yet, despite Harrison Ford being in his mid 60’s, he proves not only can he act as suave as ever, he can still kick some bad guy ass as well. This can also be said for Karen Allen, who revives her role as Marion Ravenwood, from the first installment. As in Raiders, Marion is not afraid to jump right into action and drive a car at tremendous speeds through the jungle to do what needs to be done.

Just as in other films, the supporting roles were played wonderfully. Shia LaBeouf plays an overconfident, hair obsessed, greaser with relative ease, but then again it has to be hard to screw up that stereotype. The two supporting roles that stood out the most were played by two actors, whose combined talent proves that they are worthy to be in an Indiana Jones film. John Hurt plays “Ox”, an old friend of Indy’s, who has gone mad after discovering the Crystal Skull. His portrayal of a madman is one of the best I have ever seen in an adventure film. However, it was Kate Blanchett’s role as the psychic Russian villain which is most notable. She proves women can be just as evil and villainous as men and can hold a great challenge to even Dr. Jones himself.

One of my first thoughts, finishing the film, was that it was some what hoakey and extremely unbelievable. Yet, after pondering this for a minute, I remembered so were the first three. Like the others, it was full of cheesy one-liners, completely outlandish near death situations, and had a level of supernaturalism that no real archeologist would ever encounter, but that is what made it so great. This installment is just as fantastical as the first three. Rather than dealing with religious mysticism; Crystal Skull¸ takes a crack at science fiction, capitalizing on the era of the Roswell NM incident and the atomic age in which the film takes place. This offers Spielberg a chance to let loose and work in a genre he is great at portraying.

With this being one of the most hyped films of the summer, I can assure you that you will not be disappointed, whether you are a crazed Indy fan or not. It keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time and revives those magical times you had watching Indy when you were younger. Only this time, now that my mom won’t be around, I am going to have a hard time restraining myself from buying a bullwhip and acting out the movie, like I wanted to as a kid.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

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Technorati Tags: Indiana Jones, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Harisson Ford, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Karren Allen, Kate Blanchett, Shia LaBeouf, John Hurt, Action, Adventure, Blockbuster, Review

It’s hard to understand why science fiction seems to be the genre which produces so many films that have the potential for greatness, yet, because of the underdeveloped plots, horrific writing, and empty acting, the audience is left horribly unsatisfied. Unfortunately, just like M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable, Doug Liman’s Jumper leaves us wishing the plot would have picked up with the story that is introduced at the end of the film.

Liman’s Jumper revolves around, David Rice (Hayden Christensen), who discovers he has the supernatural ability to teleport, after falling through the ice as a kid. Once discovering this power, the teenaged boy does what any boy his age would do with his newfound ability; he leaves home to rob banks without opening doors.

The story of the film begins 8 years later, when we are introduce to Rice living the high life in New York, using his powers to avoid, even the smallest of life’s inconveniences, like reaching over to pick up the remote control. Here, we find there is a secret society (calling themselves, “Paladins”), lead by, ghostly white haired, Roland (Samuel L. Jackson). The “Paladins” are a group dedicated to hunting down and ritualistically killing people with these abilities “that only God should possess”. It is unfortunate how it cannot be said the film continues with the story of a war between the “Paladins” and the “Jumpers”. Instead, it takes a turn and becomes the story of Rice reconnecting with the girl that he had a crush on and only mildly touches on the war, mostly as a device to show off the film’s special effects.

Considering the studios were thinking the film would be an equivalent to a comic book superhero movie, it’s amazing how they decided to cast Christensen as the leading man. He has simply never dropped his whiny persona or shown any true on-screen charisma. It just goes to show how the studios are not paying attention to the fans that watch their films. Simply spend 5 minutes with a diehard Star Wars fan and you will instantly know the truth about how they feel on Christensen’s performance as Darth Vader.

One positive note about this film; the special effects were fun to watch. Not only did the film have a ton of expensive toys and flashy cars, but they were constantly “jumping” around the world, to exotic locals, at tremendous speeds. Although some of the stunts were unbelievable, they kept your heart pumping almost as fast as the pace of the film.

But in the end, the film’s conclusion leaves you with nothing but disappointment and a longing for explanations. The origins of the “Jumpers” were never explained, none of the loose ends were tied off, and all the characters that you wanted to be killed off are still around. Although the ending leaves room for a squeal, where hopefully all this will be taken care of, it is doubtful that anyone would sit through another installment, if it can be expected to be anything like the first.

Jumper

Agree or disagree? Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Technorati Tags: Action, Hayden Christensen, Jumper, Review, Samuel L. Jackson, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction, special effects