Steven Spielberg and George Lucas's "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" was fun, adventuresome and action-packed. It should be on your summer's must-see list, despite some younger critics' who think Indy should have stayed home rather than get pulled out of retirement.
A huge Indiana Jones' fan since the first 1981 "Raiders of the Lost Ark," I was one of those who contributed $10 to this weekend's box office take of an expected $151 million.
For me, the 65-year-old Harrison Ford did just fine. But then, Paul Newman is ageless as was Sean Connery, Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster in their later years. By their age, it's savvy, humor and confidence, not youth, that's so appealing to audiences.
Indiana Jones' movies end predictably happy and despite initial concerns, no particular political agenda was detectable in this episode. That was a brilliant and lucrative path to choose, as movie goers today are pursuing escape from stress and tend to revolt from politically-driven flicks.
Perhaps that's why one particular comment from Indiana Jones still has me thinking about the time frame and the historical perspective of the "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," set in the late 1950s.
When confronted by Soviet scientist (played brilliantly by my current favorite, very, very busy actress Cate Blanchett) and her accompanying Russian goons trying to uncover the fabled extra terrestial-related Project 51's secrets as well as those of the mysterious Crystal Skulls that Indy quips, "I like Ike," referring to then-president Dwight Eisenhower. That's just about as pro-Republican as you'll ever see politically-liberal Harrison Ford, in any role.
But it's yet another comment at the very end of the movie when Indy tells the new heartthrob Shia LeBeouof and supposed Indy character successor Mutt Williams, "Somewhere your grandfather is laughing," that Indy's script falls disappointedly cynical and flat. Absent fathering being a family legacy is no laughing matter, and the audience's silence was a sobering and telling reaction.
The movie ends happily, with an unexpected "So much of life is spent waiting. . ." and we get the feeling that Indy-like adventures may continue in the years ahead sans Ford.
And for that, we'll all have to wait.
