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Harrison Ford
has had the pleasure of creating images
of two iconic characters in American cinema,
Han Solo... and Indiana Jones. Personally,
the latter is my personal favorite as I've
always found the "Star Wars" saga
to be a bit overrated. Indiana Jones however...
well... all he has to do it put on that
signature fedora and all you need is a silhouette
to recognize him.
Oddly enough however, it has been in the
past only the character's first movie that
really reeled me and kept my popcorn chomping
face riveted to the screen. "Raiders
of the Lost Ark" is still the definitive
Indian Jones movie. I still enjoyed "Temple
of Doom" and "The Last Crusade",
but not to the extent of the original. For
years I hoped to see Indy fighting Nazis
and crawling through temples, but all I
got was "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles"
(which admittedly I absolutely loved).
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This series kept the character alive for me,
and I enjoyed every episode (even the ones with
Cory Carrier as the really young Indy). Sean Patrick
Flannery delivered an excellent characterization
in line with Ford's. If you get a chance, check
out the series as it has been released on three
awesome DVD sets.
But I am not here to sell you on "Young Indy",
I'm here to tell you a little about Paramount's
Blu-Ray release of "Indiana Jones and the
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." That's right,
It's been almost 20 years since Ford donned the
fedora (with the quick exception of a Young Indy
episode back in 1993), but he's back! Despite
my excitement to see him in the role again, I
had my doubts as to whether this would be the
Indy movie I hoped for.
When rumors started being thrown around about
a new Indy movie, one of the early scripts had
been commissioned and written by Frank Darabont.
Sight unseen, I would expect this to have been
the best possible way to bring him back. Unfortunately,
Steven Spielberg and George Lucas rejected the
script (for shame) and instead went with a screenplay
by David Koepp. While Koepp is a decent screenwriter,
he's certainly had his share of hits and misses.
Either way I began to feel the unease.
Then there were the problems I had with "The
Last Crusade", which more than anything else
involved some of the worst blue screen work I
had ever seen, and almost ruined the film entirely
for me. Knowing how special effects crazy Spielberg
and Lucas are I wondered if it would be just as
bad, or so super clean (re: the new "really
bad" Star Wars Trilogy) that it would look
unreal.
Initially I had plans to see the film on the big
screen, but kids and jobs just keep getting in
the way, so I opted instead to wait for the DVD...
or even better... the Blu-Ray disc. So a couple
of nights ago, I settled down with the wife to
watch "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the
Crystal Skull"... and truth be told... I
enjoyed the hell out of it.
Right off the bat I should say that it still doesn't
quite compare to "Raiders"... that is
still the definitive Indy movie. But I did enjoy
it far more than I did the last two films. This
time around Indy faced off against the Russians
in race to return a Crystal Skull to its rightful
resting place before it could be used for (...insert
ominous music here...) EVIL!
The film's pace was pretty much on par with the
other Indy films, and the action sequences were
spectacular, if not occasionally humorous. Even
the villains were wonderfully villainous and their
means of being dispatched often cringeworthy.
The side plot involving a young sidekick (Shia
LaBeouf) evolved pretty much the way I expected
and did not bother me as much as I expected. The
characters actually clicked pretty well and made
for a satisfying storyline. Even better was the
return of Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood, whom
has always been the only heroine worth fighting
alongside Indy. The rebuilding of their relationship
was more than satisfying as well.
If there was anything disappointing, it would
be the resolution of film's plot. The ending was
full of eye-popping visuals but I'm still not
sold on the idea that it made for a proper Indiana
Jones tales. It was far more sci-fi than spiritual
and somehow seemed out of place in his world.
Ah well, I guess you can't have everything.
I'm still relatively new to the world of Blu-Ray
and I have to say that this is yet another film
well-worth owning in that format. Admittedly as
far as visuals go, a lot of older movies don’t
really look all that much better on Blu-Ray. I
feel the format is much better suited for films
that are especially visual in their content. A
movie like this, "Iron Man" or "Hellboy"
are created with this format in mind. I wouldn't
necessarily run out and get something like "Old
School" on Blu-Ray, I'm not sure I see the
point.
"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal
Skull" is a perfect film to get on Blu-Ray
however. The visuals are flawless, and I couldn't
imagine taking the step back to DVD. The sound
is unbelievable, especially if you have a system
that can deliver its full potential.
Then there's the matter of special features. This
is a 2-disc Blu-Ray, so the amount of features
is staggering. The first disc hits us with a cool
Timeline feature that allows you to move throughout
various spots in Indy's history and by clicking
on them, gives you more info. This is a nice little
interactive feature. Return of a Legend, is a
lengthy piece that reveals the challenges of returning
to a character after so many years. Everything
from Harrison Ford's age (which didn't seem to
slow him down a bit) to finding just the right
titles are discussed here. There is also a nice
Pre-Production featurette that focuses on what
had to be done to prepare for the film to be shot.
Disc 2 will keep you going for hours... if you've
got the time. Most notably is a feature length
documentary that acts as a diary of the filmmaking
process start to finish. It is broken up into
6 parts and is as great of a 'making of' as I
have ever seen produced for home viewing. This
is followed by several featurettes that give a
more detailed look at everything from the actor's
makeup to the props used. Some of which you'll
recognize from earlier Indy films. There is also
a closer look at three of the pivotal action sequences
from the film seen as 3D computer graphics as
well as five galleries of production stills.
"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal
Skull" is a fine addition to the Indy collection.
There are certainly a few flaws, but they really
don't do anything to undermine the enjoyment the
film offers. If you are going to pick up a copy,
I urge you to go Blu-Ray!
Directed by: Stephen Spielberg
Starring: Harrison Ford, Shia LaBeouf, Karen Allen,
Cate Blanchett
Extras: Indiana Jones Timelines, The Return of
a Legend , Pre-Production Featurette, Diary: Making
'Kingdom of the Crystal Skull', Warrior Makeup
, The Crystal Skulls, Iconic Props, The Effects
of Indy, Adventures in Post-Production, Closing:
Team Indy, -Visualization Sequence, Photo Galleries
Specifications: Widescreen, 5.1 Dolby True HD
Studio: Paramount
Release Date: 10/14/2008
Region: 1
MPAA Rating: R
Website
We'll give Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of
the Crystal Skull (Blu-Ray) an A.
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