Sidewalks On The Corner

Indy! He's back! Indiana Jones returns to the big screen with his latest adventure. Can Harrison Ford don the outfit again?

Follow up:

"INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM
OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL”
Paramount Pictures Presents
A Lucasfilm Ltd. Production
Executive Producers George Lucas and Kathleen Kennedy
Produced by Frank Marshall
Story by George Lucas and Jeff Nathanson
Screenplay by David Koepp
Directed by Steven Spielberg

Cast: Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, Ray Winstone, John Hurt, Jim Broadbent and Shia LaBeouf

J.P's TAKE
In 1981, two super power filmmakers came together to create what would soon become an instant classic with kids and adults alike. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg presented to the world archeologist/professor Indiana Jones in his first adventure, “Raiders of The Lost Ark." 27 years later those same filmmakers have returned to bring you a new adventure, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of The Crystal Skull.”

I think back to a time when I was just a kid when I watched “Raiders of The Lost Ark” for the first time. I got the same feeling again as I waited with child-like anticipation and nostalgia to see the latest Indy adventure. I stood in line outside of the legendary Castro Theater in San Francisco with friend / Sidewalks executive producer Richard R. Lee as the doors opened; we walked in and took our seats. Minutes later, a pipe organ player appeared playing a variety of classic tunes in the huge one-screen theatre. Just before the film was about to start, the organist burst into the theme from the original movies, and the audience cheered with glee. This was truly a big event. It was time -- Spielberg and Lucas have returned to the formula that made the original trilogy an instant classic.

As usual Steven Spielberg does a beautiful job at directing, I didn't expect anything less than brilliant from him -- there is great action and stunts, typical of the "Indiana Jones" series. The writing is tight thanks to George Lucas and Philip Kaufman. For lack of a better word, this movie is "perfect.” They took plenty of time to make the film, so they had plenty of time to get it just right. Don't get me wrong there are a couple of things that didn't quite work in this film. There are some awkward moments between Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) and old flame Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), who appeared in the first film. One moment in particular I found awkward is the scene where Henry Jones (a.k.a. Indy) and Marion are in the back of an army truck after being kidnapped by the Russians; they just kept badgering each other. After all that time of being away from each other, you would think they would be happy to see each other no matter what. Even though I knew the history of the characters, I felt the chemistry didn't hit its peak between them. After what they've gone through in the first movie, their characters could have gelled better.

You can look forward to excellent performance from the entire cast. I don't have to mention Ford and Allen and how well they did … that's a given. At 66, Ford is still going strong. Cate Blanchett really surprised me as Irina Spalko. Blanchett was unrecognizable as the Ukrainian mercenary; in fact the “The Lord of the Rings” actress blended into her role so well I forgot who she was. She was relentless, indestructible and even attractive. It's welcomed change for Blanchett. "Transformers" star Shia LaBeouf plays Mutt Williams, a knife wielding, motorcycle-riding thug. I felt he did a solid job. Ray Winstone seems to fall into parts where he plays backstabbing weasels; in “Skull,” his role as "Mac" George McHale is no different. Winstone has a charm about him, which makes him likable as those types of characters. John Hurt's character didn't require much of his talent to pull off his role as Professor Oxley. However, as simple as his character was, he still managed to inject his brand of wit and comedy.

It is one of the long awaited films of the season -- and after all the painstaking time working on the numerous drafts and scripts –- “Skull” is well worth the wait. Indiana Jones is the type of films legends are made of, because there is a history and obviously there is a huge following. People will be telling the story for generations. I feel "Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull" is a great adventure.

What do you think? Is this latest adventure worth the wait?