Steven Spielberg took three years off between 2005 and 2008 in order to develop the fourth installment of the Indiana Jones franchise. Working with buddy George Lucas the duo pulled together a script and reunited most of the team from the original film seventeen years earlier for another adventure.
It's around 1955 and this time Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is fighting the commies. Indy does not look a day over 60, which is how old he is considering he was born around 1895 give or take a year. The commies have snuck into America and are searching for a mysterious relic. When the film opens we find Indy a prisoner of these Reds along with his buddy Mac (Ray Winstone). They are at a secret army base in Nevada outside a big warehouse that seems very familiar. The action kicks into high gear very quickly and the film asks the audience to follow along as we race from Nevada to Connecticut and then to Peru and finally deep into the Amazon jungle where the secrets of the Crystal Skull and the fabled city of Eldorado are revealed.
The movie has a lot of energy and some fun nostalgic moments that make me reminisce for the two best films of the series Raiders and Last Crusade. There is a moment when Indy looks at a photo of Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliot) and Henry Jones (Sean Connery) and when you see the picture you are reminded how sorely missed they are.
New characters are introduced. Shia Lebouf as Mutt a young man who helps Indy on his new adventure, Jim Broadbent who works at the University with Indy (and replaces the Marcus Brody character) and John Hurt as Harlod Oxley and old friend of Indy's. Returning is Karen Allen as Marion, Indy's one true love. And Kate Blanchett stars as the evil Soviet agent Irina Spalko. She plays the character straight out of the Boris and Natasha cartoons from the old Rocky & Bullwinkle Show.
The film is fun and fast paced, but lacks the great comic energy of the first and third films of the series. All the Spielberg trademark production values are there and besides re-teaming with Lucas he also teamed up with his creative collaborators.
Some of the stunt work and special effects appear distinctly computerized and take away from the authenticity that the other three films had. if I had to rank the film in the series I would say it is number three because even though it's not great it is still better than Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
The film suggest that the mantle of further Indiana Jones adventures will be handed off to Shia LeBouf as a new adventurer. We shall have to wait and see.
This end my retrospective on the films of Steven Spielberg who is, easily one of the greatest directors in the history of movies. On December 26, 2011 he will be returning to the box office with two new films, released on the same day. I am looking forward to both.
At The Movie House rating **1/2 stars
Here is what Wikipedia says about both films:
War Horse
Here is the official synopsis for the film was released by DreamWorks Studio on 14 December 2010:
"From director Steven Spielberg comes “War Horse,” an epic adventure for audiences of all ages. Set against a sweeping canvas of rural England and Europe during the First World War, “War Horse” begins with the remarkable friendship between a horse named Joey and a young man called Albert, who tames and trains him. When they are forcefully parted, the film follows the extraordinary journey of the horse as he moves through the war, changing and inspiring the lives of all those he meets—British cavalry, German soldiers, and a French farmer and his granddaughter—before the story reaches its emotional climax in the heart of No Man’s Land. The First World War is experienced through the journey of this horse—an odyssey of joy and sorrow, passionate friendship and high adventure. “War Horse” is one of the great stories of friendship and war—a successful book, it was turned into a hugely successful international theatrical hit that is arriving on Broadway next year. It now comes to screen in an epic adaptation by one of the great directors in film history."
The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn
is an upcoming 2011 American motion capture 3-D film based on The Adventures of Tintin, a series of comic books created by Belgian artist Georges "Hergé" Remi. It is directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by Peter Jackson, and written by Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish. The script is based on three of the stories: The Crab with the Golden Claws, The Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham's Treasure.
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