Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal has been out now for just over a week and although critical reviews are mostly average the fan response is for the most part negative.  I personally like Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, I think it’s a pretty good action movie with qualities from the past Indiana Jones films present HOWEVER, after thinking about it for a week Indy 4 really is missing a lot of qualities that make the franchise one of the most popular of all time.

Even though Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a good movie that I think is a lot of fun and that it sets out to do what it was ment to, here is a list of things that I think was missing.  This is all however just my opinion and not fact. 

8 - Kick ass hand to hand fights

Now granted the fights in Crystal Skull are pretty cool and the fight between Indy and the big Russian guy is kinda cool, it lacks the spark and excitement from the original movies.  Most notably, who can ever forget Indiana Jones vs. The Huge German guy.  Not only was the fight awesome, it was surrounded by classic action.

7 - Revolver Love

What’s one of the memorable costume piece of Indiana Jones?  In this case the answer is his gun.  HE DIDN’T USE IT IN THIS MOVIE!  I don’t understand…. He only pulled his gun out once and aimed it at some crazy ass but he didn’t even take a shot.  In the old day’s he wouldn’t even hesitate to kill anybody.

6 - A solid prologue

Even though the prologue to Crystal Skull was entertaining as it set up the story, it breaks the tradition of all 3 prior film.  In the original trilogy, each movie started off with action that had nothing to do with the primary plot except in each case introducing a certain character that will in fact be apart of the film.  That in its self isn’t even the issue I have.  The simple problem I had with the opening is that it wasn’t even that fun.  It was ok and it had its action but that was about it.  What about the fun?  Even though Temple Of Doom is considered by many to be the weakest of the first 3, you have to admit, its opening was perfection.

5 - Real danger

Not real danger towards the actors of course since it’s a controlled environment but during the course of Crystal Skull, you never get the feeling of real danger.  The action might be good enough and at some points a little ridiculous but there really isn’t suspense.  At $185 million you’d think they create better stunts given the talents behind Indiana Jones.

4 - Special Effects that break barriers

There is one thing that Indiana Jones is know for and that’s the special effects, the classic effects that is becoming a lost art with CGI becoming part of cinema more and more every day.  Ironically the creator of Indiana Jones, George Lucas, is the front runner in the visual effects industry.  In Crystal Skull a lot of what was seen was CGI even though they, the moviemakers, continued to say that almost everything was shot real.  If you’ve seen Crystal Skull then you know that wasn’t totally true.  There is nothing better then composited melting faces or super fast aging.

3 - Slimy awesomely evil villains

Don’t get me wrong, I love Cate Blanchett, she’s a remarkable actress.  That said, I’m not going to blame her for the faults of the screenplay.  Even so, Crystal Skull really lacked a good villain and in my opinion and I’m sure it’s also the opinion of others that Blanchett’s Spalko is the weakest villain in the franchise.

2 - A solid and ultimate climax

I’m not one to complain about science fiction or the use of aliens in movies and I’m not going against the appearance of aliens in Crystal Skull, I am going to complain about the climax of the film.  It falls short to the things that have come before it and that much is obvious.  In the end though, it’s hard to have a solid climax when you don’t have a solid story and a object that brings mystery and intrigue.

1 - Indiana Jones is nothing without being macho as ever

The most important quality in my opinion is the fact that Indiana Jones is one of the most machoest characters ever, if that’s even a word.  In all three films, especially the first two, Harrison Ford makes Indiana Jones into the mans man that every guy wants to be, just admit it.  In any case, Crystal Skull was different because Indiana Jones was of course older and he probably felt like he lost a step or two.  Still when Indy is in his element I think the audience really needs to see that old school macho adventurer.  If a 5th film is made I think it’s very important for George Lucas and Steven Spielberg to bring back the macho archaeologist and that in itself will improve the fun feel of the film giving it that old school serial light again.

Over all the bottom line is that George Lucas needs to find his creative juices again.  Even though I like Crystal Skull, it simply felt like Lucas just went through the steps in writing the film.  It also felt like a battle between Lucas and Spielberg… but don’t quote me on that.

-Phil