Well... I saw this one with Brak's last night and I wanted to cry afterwards
I went in, not with high expectations, but hoping for a good movie that could hold it's own with the other 3. I didn't expect it to be better, but at least hoped it wouldn't suck. This, while not the worst movie ever by any means, was truly awful. Brak's gave me a look right after the opening shot of the prairie dog like "here we go" but I wasn't really bothered by the CGI...the first time. But honestly, where it started to go downhill was in the warehouse, after probably the best moment in the movie- Indy donning his hat and the theme music starting. It was the one liners and dialogue in the warehouse that just felt...wrong. Harrison really felt un Indy like, to me, in delivering the terrible lines he was given. I was already disappointed but tried to not let it affect the rest of the movie and hoped it got better and that he would feel more like Indy (which he was). But after the fridge incident, I honestly was ready to walk out and if Brak's hadn't been taking me out on a date, I would have left. But I stayed, hoping it would get better. It had a couple "Indy" moments- like when he was in the grave yard crawling on that tilty stone thing- the look in his eyes was true Indy. And the scene in the library where he is crashing, sliding across the ground and the student asks him a question, pretty funny. But a few minute moments do not make a movie. The story line was very weak. Aliens, not a problem. But there was such poor development of who and what they were, why the skull was important, why the Russians were after it, why they kept keeping Indy alive, what the black hair chick's deal was. She seemed to have this hate for Indy, but you have no idea why. It was all just really poorly developed. This movie seemed to be more focused on the action than on the story and that is where it really failed. It just went from one chase, to the next, to the next to the next to the point that you never felt there was any danger. You never were on the edge of your seat going "will they make it?" The one liners just seemed very forced and as Brak's described, it was like you knew what was going to be said and they would pause, just for dramatic effect until Indy gave his one liner, and then the movie would move back on. The other thing was there was no real mystery, you never saw Indy ever struggle to solve any of the "riddles". And he always seemed way too eager to help the Russians along. The final things that sealed the deal were the ridiculous sword fight on moving vehicles which then ended with the kid flying through the jungle like Tarzan, followed by all his new found monkey friends that had a hate for Russians, followed by not one, not two, but three falls down waterfalls in which NO ONE gets hurt or killed. By the end, I just couldn't wait for it to be over so Brak's and I could talk about it on the drive home. Also, by the end. when he tries to use the whip to help the "triple agent" I realized, he hardly used the whip at all this movie :/ It's funny, Brak's and I complained that they just released the orignal 3 movies right before this one- obviously so you can buy them now why you are Indy hungry and then AGAIN when the 4th one comes out. Now, I'm glad they did that cause we will be buying the original three...and that is all. For me, this series ended with Indy riding off into the sunset with his Dad and Marcus and this last movie was just a bad dream that I wish hadn't been made and I am sorry I saw
Very very saddened by this. :cry