Oh I remember how Sean Connery during the bullets showering by the 50's or 40's fighter plane on them, he took out his black umbrella, and chase the pigeons away. Indiana was at first baffled by the act of his father, being in a tight situation, fooling around with his umbrella on a clear autumn sky. As the pigeon flew off amidst the approaching Hawker Hunter, knocking on the window of the plane, disorientated it, the pilot lost his sense of sight and end up crashing on something. It was one of the genius of the 80's show, innovative retaliation or recoil.
And then who could forget the ending of one of the sequel, showing the virtue of the main actor, when Indiana and the nemesis discovered the location of the Holy Grail(that's where I first know what a holy grail is). Got in there and they were each given a choice to choose the non-figurative grail, from the many ornately decorated gold encrusted tablets lying on the altar, which watched over by a frail old knight. The nemesis took to finding the grail first, picking one with the biggest and more charming tablet, decorated with diamonds and rubies and sapphire of great sizes and shapes.
He took the cup and scoop the holy water, and upon drinking it, cursed instead of everlasting life, he got accelerating life, turn into skeletons in no time, the marvel of special effect at that time still incomparable until now, considering the gap in the technology they applied between then and now. Then Harrison Ford, only thought of saving his father dying of a bullet shot, chose the most simple and hidden tablet, within easy reach, drank the water and eventually saved his father.
Ok, I mingle too long with the old one, which is justified, cause this latest installment 16 years after the last one, same old ensemble, minus sadly Sean COnnery, (I think he dies in the last one) does not live up to the hyped up expectation it conceives both after all these years and by the people whom involved in this film. The A-listers, Lucas, Spielberg and Harrison Ford, supposedly well-seasoned with their decades of experience, oscars awards and resume of movies which could make them almost legend, comes out with a movie left so much wanted. If Jason Castro from AI6 comes out flat with his performance, this could just top it off.
It was boring, unfunny, unexciting and messy. The lines were bland and the editing were amateurish. And I haven;t even come to the part of directing. One wonders whether Spielberg was actually on the set while filming or he has his phantom director assisting him while he settling down in his trailer U-haul van savouring his swan songs Saving Private Ryand and The Color Purple. The only time I find the movie worthy of a Spielberg when the Russian armies arrives at the US army territory front gate, the general walked up to the guard in the middle of desert background, halted for not authorized for entry, he went down, thought to tie his shoe laced, and immediately is well-choreographed surprise attack.
After that it went downhill from there. Cate Blanchett was underutilized. One can't help but wonder that she does this only for the fun of it. Shia Lebouf was annoyingly whiny. The relationship between father and son, was not well developed.
Overall, you expect in the world of Special Effect technology where large mountainous landscape could be made up like in Lord Of The Rings, chimeric human-animals could be conjured with ease like in Narnia Chronicles, Indiana Jones in the 21st century could be 10 times more exciting than the last 3, you expected wrong.
This sequel is just another 80's production but laced with elements of boredom of the 21st century. One just hope that there is no Indiana Jones 5.
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