Spring Break
Ford still has what it takes in latest 'Indiana Jones'
Samantha Urban, Associate Entertainment Editor, surban@smu.edu
Issue date: 6/3/08 Section: Entertainment
While wasting my summer watching television and listening to the radio, I have discovered that many people didn't really like the new "Indiana Jones" movie. This completely baffles me. Is "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" perfect? Absolutely not. But overall, it's a fine effort and a supremely entertaining film.
To explain my reasoning, let me take you back to 1999. Back then, Pluto was still a planet. MTV still showed music videos on occasion. Your mom didn't know how to use the Internet yet. And on May 19, "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace" was released to theaters. It had been 16 years since "Return of the Jedi" had graced the screen and, needless to say, fans were rabid for the long-anticipated prequels which were to tell the story of how young Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader.
And what did George Lucas finally deliver to us? A gigantic pile of crap. "The Phantom Menace" featured a few cool lightsaber duels, but it was mostly full of bad dialogue and horrible acting. "Episode II: Attack of the Clones" was even worse, though it didn't feature Jar Jar Binks as prominently, making it slightly more tolerable. The final entry, "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith," released in 2005, wasn't horrible, but it still bore the marks of a sub-par film, filled with lousy writing and a number of cheesy moments. All in all, the "Star Wars" prequels were nowhere near the quality of the original trilogy.
That being said, can you really say that "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" was so bad? Sure, it has its share of unrealistic moments that might merit some eye-rolling and several instances of shoddy CGI work, but it was fun to watch. More importantly, it captured the same sense of heart and adventure that made the original "Indiana Jones" films so great.
In this newest entry, Dr. Henry Jones Jr., aka Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford), finds himself at the mercy of Soviet psychic Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett, "I'm Not There," "Elizabeth: The Golden Age"), who wants Jones' help in finding the elusive Crystal Skulls, thought to have supernatural powers. Along the way, Jones joins up with Mutt (Shia LaBeouf, "Disturbia," "Transformers"), a greaser who wants Indy's help in finding and rescuing his mother.
To explain my reasoning, let me take you back to 1999. Back then, Pluto was still a planet. MTV still showed music videos on occasion. Your mom didn't know how to use the Internet yet. And on May 19, "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace" was released to theaters. It had been 16 years since "Return of the Jedi" had graced the screen and, needless to say, fans were rabid for the long-anticipated prequels which were to tell the story of how young Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader.
And what did George Lucas finally deliver to us? A gigantic pile of crap. "The Phantom Menace" featured a few cool lightsaber duels, but it was mostly full of bad dialogue and horrible acting. "Episode II: Attack of the Clones" was even worse, though it didn't feature Jar Jar Binks as prominently, making it slightly more tolerable. The final entry, "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith," released in 2005, wasn't horrible, but it still bore the marks of a sub-par film, filled with lousy writing and a number of cheesy moments. All in all, the "Star Wars" prequels were nowhere near the quality of the original trilogy.
That being said, can you really say that "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" was so bad? Sure, it has its share of unrealistic moments that might merit some eye-rolling and several instances of shoddy CGI work, but it was fun to watch. More importantly, it captured the same sense of heart and adventure that made the original "Indiana Jones" films so great.
In this newest entry, Dr. Henry Jones Jr., aka Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford), finds himself at the mercy of Soviet psychic Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett, "I'm Not There," "Elizabeth: The Golden Age"), who wants Jones' help in finding the elusive Crystal Skulls, thought to have supernatural powers. Along the way, Jones joins up with Mutt (Shia LaBeouf, "Disturbia," "Transformers"), a greaser who wants Indy's help in finding and rescuing his mother.
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