Well, I just got back from a screening for one of the summer's most anticipated films.

Bottom line-- it was not a disaster. That seems like a strange bottom line but I had been hearing some bad buzz and the trailer just looked horrible so I went in thinking it was possible it would be a disaster on par with the dreadful 2nd Indy film (Temple of Doom).

So, it was not a disaster...

But it was not great either. I would rate it close to but not quite as good as Indy 3 (Last Crusade). Compared to action fare like Iron Man, it comes up quite short. I still think it will do huge boxoffice, though probably only around $225 million, not nearly the $300 mill that some have predicted. It is not like people will have a bad time watching it, but, I am betting a lot of you will leave the theater thinking, "well, that could have been better."

The story is ok. It starts out really well -- we get a pretty decent action sequence right away and they really launch the story well. But then, it starts to fall apart a bit. The problem, to me, was the action sequences. They are really cartoonish. I know Indiana Jones is not supposed to be high on reality, but this stuff goes well over the top in suspension of belief. It is not just that Harrison Ford is like 60+ years old and have toe-to-toe fist fights with tall, strong, Soviet army officers (who look something like Ivan Drago in Rocky 4)...



... it is that the "escapes" are just ridiculous. For example, at one point our heroes are riding in a car without a roof and another car flies through the air and lands on top of their car and bounces off... and no one has a scratch on them. At another point soon after, the good guys drive a car over a cliff and land it on a tree that bends over almost to the point of breaking before gently depositing them exactly where they wanted to be. It is all so ridiculous that you never feel any sense of peril or excitement. It is almost like, "what crazy thing will they do next to get us out of this impossible situation. Yawn." The final conclusion of the story is somewhat confusing and not at all satisfying. The ending also feels a lot like something I have seen before... I am not sure where and if I speculate too much it will give away some stuff so I'll stop.

I am being too harsh probably. There are some nice humorous moments and the chemistry between Ford and Karen Allen is still strong. Shia LaBeouf is alright and has a few good moments. Cate Blanchett's character, the bad guy, is just horrible though -- especially her faux Russian accent and ridiculous looking wig. Blech!



There are still some good Indiana Jones staples -- including the latest insect/bug/snake mayhem that is especially terrifying and could give little ones a real fright. My 11 and 8-year-olds liked it, though not nearly as much as Iron Man. My wife thought it was alright.

I would give it a lukewarm thumbs up -- it is worth seeing, but having lowered expectations is probably a good idea and you will not be blown away.

I will be interested in seeing what others think.

--Jason "if your kids have not seen the original, I'd let them watch it first as there are a couple small but fun winks to people who have seen the great Raiders of the Lost Arc" Evans