I had the opportunity to see the new Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull movie this weekend. First, I have to say I am a huge fan of the "Indiana Jones" character and the original three films. That being said, I feel this fourth installment was a worthy and very entertaining effort.  I started to get excited as soon as I heard that all too familiar music begin from the orchestra directed by John Williams.

Don't worry if you have not seen the movie yet because I do not intend on including any spoilers. Overall, I felt the new movie held true to the previous films though it has been nearly 20 years since Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was released back in 1989. In case you did not know, the new film does not include Sean Connery who played Indy's dad in the Last Crusade. You will be happy to know that Crystal Skull does include a reprise by Karen Allen who played "Marion Ravenwood" in the original Raiders of the Lost Ark movie. Cate Blanchett does a splendid job playing the evil Russian "Irina Spalko."

I was pleased to see that the script and cinematography continued to retain a comic book style to them. Yes, many scenes included unbelievable stunts and improbable events, but that is no different than the previous three films. It is called suspended disbelief and you will enjoy this movie (and most movies for that matter) if you are able to employ that skill. These films have always heavily relied on unbelievable stunts and improbable events. I was happy to see that "Indy" had aged and that Harrison Ford still had his fantastic comedic timing. I was just ecstatic to be able to watch this character go on another adventure and I have to say that it was very charming and entertaining.

Expectations run very high in a situation like this and most of us have changed quite a bit since 1981 when the first film was released. It is natural that this film will disappoint those who go in with a different mindset than when they saw the first three. I tried not to read any reviews before I saw the movie myself, but since I saw it I decided to see what other people have said. Many reviews have been harsh expecting this movie to be something it never was before. Entertainment Weekly gave it a B- and I read some reviews that were much more negative than that. If I were to give the film a letter grade, I would probably give it a B+. I would say that it is not as good as the first or third movies, but as good or better than the second.

If I was disappointed with anything it would probably be the adventure leads to something that does not specifically link back to something possibly historical. I would have preferred the adventure chase an angle that again was rooted in the bible or history books. I don't want to spoil anything here, so that is as much as I am going to say about that. Even with that though, there was enough of all of the things I loved about the Indiana Jones movies from the 80s to make me recommend this movie to anyone else who is willing to go in with realistic expectations. You put Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford together (not to mention George Lucas too) all remaining true to this wonderful character and you just can't go wrong as far as I am concerned.

Speaking of those guys, here is a link to my previously published Top 10 Steven Spielberg Movies List and also my Top 10 Harrison Ford Movie Characters List. Both of those are worth checking out again. "Indiana Jones" continues to be one of the greatest movie characters of all time in my opinion. (That would make a good topic for a future issue!)  I personally hope that we will get to follow further adventures of "Indy" though I do not believe any agreements are in place to insure that happens. In the meantime, just enjoy that at least we do have Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull.

Here is a link to a review by Robert Berry over at the Retrocrush website that I feel is very well in line with my feelings on this film.  Check out his review for another similar opinion on the film.

That will wrap up this short issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks for reading. If you have more specific questions about the movie, please just send me a message and I will be glad to give you any other insight you are looking for. Be sure you have not missed any past issues by clicking on the Archive buttons in the upper left hand column which will let you see all postings for each month. Peace and much love.

Check this out: Here is another commentary on gasoline prices which are simply getting out of control...

Quote of the day: "Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong." -Oscar Wilde

Download this: "Lucky" by Jason Mraz (featuring Colbie Caillat) - This is from his brand new album released earlier this month titled We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. and I think it is great