Indiana Jones . The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull . Easily the most anticipated film of the year, if not the decade. Fans
have been waiting for Harrison Ford to reprise his role as the hat-wearing, whip-wielding, sarcasm-throwing archaeologist hero for twenty years. Rumors abounded for so long that people became immune to any kind of tentative announcement. Then, suddenly, Indiana Jones 4 was a reality, and all the big players, from Steven Spielberg to George Lucas and Harrison Ford, were returning. There''s no way this new Indiana Jones could fail, right? Right?
First off, I am a big Indiana Jones fan. So big that over the last week, I''ve watched all three of the original films. I even like The Temple of Doom , for Christ''s sake. That being said, I went into Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull hesitantly, determined not to trump it up too much for fear of approaching it with too high of expectations. I had heard that the film was receiving mixed reviews, as it should; this movie, literally the most anticipated film since the Star Wars prequels, was, by nature, going to set expectations unrealistically high. It''s impossible not to be disappointed by a film like this.
This new Indiana Jones is entertaining enough. For the first half hour of the movie, I had a big grin on my face as I was so delighted to see Indy back on the big screen (whether I saw any of the originals on the big screen is up for debate, as I was only seven when The Last Crusade hit theaters). Watching Indy jump, shoot, whip and punch his way through Communist slime is entertaining, and with the return of the familiar John Williams soundtrack, it''s hard not to pee your pants just a little.