INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM

Action/adventure

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Harrison Ford: Professor Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones
Cate Blanchett: paranormal research scientist Irina Spalko
Jim Broadbent: Dean Stanforth
Shia LaBoeuf: 20-year-old Mutt Williams
John Hurt: Indy's old colleague University of Chicago Professor Oxley
Ray Winstone: Indy’s sidekick Mac McHale
Marion Ravenwood: Karen Allen, Oxley’s associate

REVIEW
As with any sequel there are certain expectations. For the most part these are met in the latest reincarnation of the Indy series: lots of action, unbelievable escapes, witty one-liners, fights, big explosions, creepy-crawly things.

However two key elements are missing: at no point in time do we think Indy is in danger so there is little excitement generated and the music is a disappointing replay from previous episodes rather than anything original.

The acting for the most part is fine and the production values are high. But it is too long, by about half an hour, as several action sequences drag on to the point of being repetitive. As with most Spielberg’s movies it exceeds two hours. Some movies warrant the extended running time: this one does not.

CLASSIFICATION
for adventure violence and scary images.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
 I won’t even mention how inadequate would be the protection Indy hides in during the blast…we have to give him a little bit of slack.
 Mutt tells Indy that his mother Mary “was angry and really P.O.’d at such and such”. Although the somewhat vulgar expression peed off was used by Armed Forces personnel during World War II it was not until the early ‘70’s that it became shortened to P.O.’d, some 15 years after these events took place.
 While at the diner Mutt abruptly stands up to fight with someone at the next table and in so doing knocks over the ketchup and mustard bottles. The next shot looking over Mutt’s shoulder shows both bottles standing upright. When the camera reverts to Indy’s point of view the bottles are lying down like they are supposed to so he sets them upright.

P.S.
Some of Director Steven Spielberg’s movies:
Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 135 minutes
Jaws: 124 minutes
Raiders of the Lost Ark: 115 minutes
ET: 115 minutes
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: 118 minutes
The Color Purple: 154 minutes
Empire of the Sun: 154 minutes
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: 127 minutes
Jurassic Park: 127 minutes
Schindler’s List: 195 minutes
The Lost World Jurassic Park: 129 minutes
Saving Private Ryan: 170 minutes
Artificial Intelligence: 146 minutes
Minority Report: 145 minutes
Catch Me if you Can: 141 minutes
The Terminal: 128 minutes
War of the Worlds: 116 minutes
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: 124 minutes
Average running time: 2 hours and 17 minutes.