Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull [Blu-ray]

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull [Blu-ray]
by Steven Spielberg

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull [Blu-ray]

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Blu-ray details

Actor: Cate Blanchett, Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Ray Winstone, Shia LaBeouf
Director: Steven Spielberg
Brand: PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO
Producer: Denis L. Stewart
Producer: Fl?vio R. Tambellini
Producer: Frank Marshall
Writer: David Koepp
Writer: George Lucas
Writer: Jeff Nathanson
Writer: Philip Kaufman
Audio: English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); Portuguese (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 122 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: 2008-10-14
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Paramount

Blu-ray Reviews of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull [Blu-ray]

Blu-ray Review: Weakest by FAR of the series
Summary: 3 Stars

I'm a huge fan of Indiana Jones, so looked forward immensely to this installment. Boy, what I disappointed. The story itself was pretty good--introducing Indy's son, old love, etc. was good. I even (in some ways) liked the sci-fi nature of the story . . . the first movies were set during the '30s and '40s, when movies were about adventure and fighting the Nazis and such; this one is set in the '50s, when movies were all about sci-fi and alien invasions/contact, so it fit.

That being said, the digital effects got annoying. They were fine for the alien portions, but were poorly done & inappropriate for the action sequences. Part of the appeal of the earlier films was the ACTUAL stunt work and action sequences. If I wanted to see digitally rendered vehicles in a chase I'd watch Pixar's Cars. And I hate to say it, but Harrison was completely unconvincing in many of the action scenes. Watching him attempt the physical feats that Indy is (supposedly) still capable of performing in his 60s was just embarrassing. Even Indy ages, and the film-makers would have been better off reflecting this fact. Instead, they chose to pretend he hadn't lost a step since his 30s, and Harrison has definitely lost a lot more than Indy probably would have.

Blu-ray Review: Indy is still THE MAN!!
Summary: 5 Stars

As Steven Spielberg observes in the bonus matter, the fourth Indy film almost never got made at all, and we probably have Harrison Ford to thank for the fact that it did. Ford, 66 when the movie came out, is a little heavier now, a little softer around the jawline, a little grizzled, but he clearly shows that he still has what it takes to recreate one of his most beloved characters. The year is 1957, and Indy, after a distinguished career in World War II (he served in the OSS and attained the rank of Colonel) and several "years spyin' on the Commies," is kidnapped by a task-force of Russians headed up by Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett in an inky-black Prince Valiant haircut) to help them find a set of "mummified remains" which he helped study 10 years earlier (most viewers will guess at its connection to the famous "Area 51" case, and indeed the warehouse the gang crashes is so emblazoned; one wonders if the Ark of the Covenant is in there too). Though he's unable to prevent them from getting away with their swag, Indy soon finds himself drawn back into the case when a motorcycle-riding youngster who calls himself Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf) approaches him and explains that his foster father (John Hurt), an old schoolmate of Indy's, has disappeared into the jungles of South America in a bid to return a mysterious artifact to its proper resting place. Mutt's mother is also among the missing, and he fears she and Prof. Oxley are in danger. Which they are, because Spalko and her followers aren't just looking for remains.

Reuniting Ford, Spielberg, George Lucas, Karen Allen, John Williams, and various other key figures in the Indy saga, this may be the best of the entire series. There are so many fantastic scenes I can't even begin to decide which was my favorite, yet none of them have the grue of Satipo's death or the melting Nasties, I mean Nazis, from Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (Special Edition). The pace barely lets up for a moment--there are just enough quieter moments to give you a chance to catch your breath between crises--and the SFX are, of course, incomparable. You may also want to read the novelizationIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and buy the soundtrack CD Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Blu-ray Review: Have mixed emotions about this one......
Summary: 4 Stars

I have read most of the reviews on this one good & bad, & most are well defined, so I will try to give an honest viewpoint, first off, I don't hate this one, but I couldn't help but feel that it was trying too hard, below are my Pro & Cons on this one

The Pros...(Good stuff)

Cate Blanchett was a good villian, a step up from Allison Doody's Elsa in "Last Crusade"
The Area 51 sequence in the opening moments were fun, the blink-you-miss-it shot of the Ark was played for laughs no doubt

Shia LeBeouf as Mutt & his appearance was accurate to the time (the 50's)

Harrison Ford as a aged Indy was no different than a aged Obi-Wan or Captain Kirk

The feel of the previous films was there...

The action was definately on par with the previous films

Now for the Cons...(Bad stuff)

The return of Karen Allen was a bad idea, I have nothing against her as an actress, & loved her in the original, but, I just didn't see the point of bringing her back, she really wasn't attuned to her character in the first film, nothing about her in this one reminded me of her in that one...& why not bring back Willie Scott & Short Round too...

Indy's sidekick constantly switching sides, if Short Round or Sallah had done this, Indy would have shot Sallah, & left Short Round in the "Temple of Doom", here he just goes with flow in the hope that his sidekick is on his side....

The hypnosis scene involving the Crystal Skull.....what was that all about??...did I miss somthing?..

The alien angle did seem out of place a bit, but not inconceivable considering that the Mayans were said to be super intelligent, & that many of the world's ancient places such as the Pyramids in Egypt are still a mystery, Lucas & Speilberg apparently are fans of the film "Stargate" with Kurt Russell, because they borrowed this aspect from it...

Overall, I liked this one, but I feel that it could have easily ended with "Last Crusade", It is pretty clear that Lucas, Speilberg, & Ford all had different ideas here, & at times I felt that they might have been trying to accomplish different things, whereas in the previous 3 films there was a continuous flow, here, the flow seems to be going in different directions,

& why end it with Indy & Marion getting married, you can't reconnect that fast, can you?

This one to me is a mixed bag, after repeated viewings, these minor points are starting to bug me, I hate it when films I like do that to me, overall, this one is just as fun, but given Shia LeBeouf's recent comments about him & Ford being a bit displeased with it, you have to wonder if Lucas, Speilberg, Ford, & Shia are even speaking to each other right now...

Blu-ray Review: Three quarters of a great Indy movie
Summary: 4 Stars

This movie is something no Indiana Jones fan should miss, but sadly it's also a big disappointment - almost as bad as _Temple of Doom_.

So much is right about it. Catching up with Marian as well as Indy. Graying Indy fighting the Commies as young Indy fought the Nazis, with the tinges of discord between the independent hero and the monolithic government. Over-the-top stunts as always, even (obligatory in a 50s setting) a scene with a nuclear blast. Some wonderful fan-service stuff, like more about that giant warehouse at the end of Raiders.

Sadly, somewhere about 3/4 of the way through the movie, it takes a left turn into "George has no clue why some of his movies are so great" territory. If I could, I'd edit the DVD to switch from this movie to the final part of _Vibes_ (Vibes) for a much much better treatment of what Indy should have found.

As it is, suddenly we get a bunch of Newage (rhymes with sewage) claptrap and babble. Cool 50s/90s retro Space aliens suddenly turn into transdimensional hippy versions of E.T.

It's sad.

But for all that the final part is terrible, there is so much good stuff, so much that really is in the vein of the original _Raiders_, that I still encourage folks who loved _Raiders_ and _Last Crusade_ to watch it at least once.

Blu-ray Review: It was a hit with my grandson!
Summary: 5 Stars

It was a hit with my grandson! I enjoyed watching it too even though I saw it years ago. He'll always be a hit!

Description of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull [Blu-ray]

Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 10/14/2008 Run time: 122 minutes Rating: Pg13

Nearly 20 years after riding his last Crusade, Harrison Ford makes a welcome return as archaeologist/relic hunter Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, an action-packed fourth installment that's, in a nutshell, less memorable than the first three but great nostalgia for fans of the series. Producer George Lucas and screenwriter David Koepp (War of the Worlds) set the film during the cold war, as the Soviets--replacing Nazis as Indy's villains of choice and led by a sword-wielding Cate Blanchett with black bob and sunglasses--are in pursuit of a crystal skull, which has mystical powers related to a city of gold. After escaping from them in a spectacular opening action sequence, Indy is coerced to head to Peru at the behest of a young greaser (Shia LaBeouf) whose friend--and Indy's colleague--Professor Oxley (John Hurt) has been captured for his knowledge of the skull's whereabouts. Whatever secrets the skull holds are tertiary; its reveal is the weakest part of the movie, as the CGI effects that inevitably accompany it feel jarring next to the boulder-rolling world of Indy audiences knew and loved. There's plenty of comedy, delightful stunts--ants play a deadly role here--and the return of Raiders love interest Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood, once shrill but now softened, giving her ex-love bemused glances and eye-rolls as he huffs his way to save the day. Which brings us to Ford: bullwhip still in hand, he's a little creakier, a lot grayer, but still twice the action hero of anyone in film today. With all the anticipation and hype leading up to the film's release, perhaps no reunion is sweeter than that of Ford with the role that fits him as snugly as that fedora hat. --Ellen A. Kim

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