Like a lot of people, I was greatly anticipating the release of this film. And although I saw it two days ago I had to wait 48 hours before reviewing simply because I could not make up my mind about the film. 'Kingdom...' had good elements and bad, but the positives thankfully overshadow the negatives, even if it is by the skin of their teeth.
The plot was entertaining but mixing Indy with Star Trek ultimately proved to be a failure. Although entertaining and shot well, the whole extraterrestrials theme was weak and doesn't feel right. I felt it didn't really go anywhere; the film seemed to be based around dreadful metal skulls, I wanted the old Indy back! The whole 'X Files' thing going on was pretty much unrecognisable and in my opinion was the worst thing in the film. The script was powerless and shaky for an Indiana Jones movie, and there was even a point where I was cringing . The shoddy C.G.I was just fuel to the fire.
On a better note, the cast was in top shape. Apart from Cate Blanchett doing my head in with her awful mixed accent, I was pleasantly surprised and loved the actors. Harrison Ford was brilliant. He did little wrong, and I liked the way he confessed, in character, that he wasn't a young man anymore. I'm glad he didn't carry out a charade of pretending he's in his prime, something a lot of great actors have sadly done in the past. I was greatly surprised Ford would reprise his role so well, but his dry and sly humour is long gone, something that will be missed, but on the whole he was great. Shia LaBeouf was shocking. I saw him first in 'Transformers' and 'Holes' and thought he was very good, but he was outstanding as Mutt. He was very convincing and steals the show more than a few times. I never really found him annoying and was glad he was there, he had some funny scenes and lines and is memorable. John Hurt as Oxley was just painful to watch, seeing he was insane for basically 90% of the movie. It was a relief to see him back to normal, unfortunately it was too late to enjoy by then. Karen Allen coming back as Marion Ravenwood was great, I'll admit she overacted a bit, but it was nice to have her back and although she was cheesy, she was fun and lightened the mood. I found Cate Blanchett to have the worst performance out of the lot; she was awful and I could barely stand her throughout. She was not menacing or convincing, just irritating and embarrassing. Irina Spalko did not come alive, it was more of 'Irina Spastic' who did. Ray Winstone wasn't that memorable, but he was good as Mac.
I found the ending and start of 'Kingdom...' to be the weakest. The beginning just didn't do it for me, it just didn't have that same punch as the previous Indiana Jones films. It wasn't thrilling and interesting, which is what really let it down. The ending wasn't much better. It was cheesy and the whole 'Wow I found my long-lost son, I'm so happy' theme plain tacky. I expected more from Spielberg as far as the ending was concerned. However, the action was great and re-created the magic of the previous films. There was suspense, and despite the plot being dull, many parts were intriguing.
All in all, this movie is watchable only for the performances. If you are a die-hard fan, you should go see it. But if not, I'd avoid. Seeing it would probably put you off the other three, which in contrast, are just superb. Indy didn't deserve this.
The plot was entertaining but mixing Indy with Star Trek ultimately proved to be a failure. Although entertaining and shot well, the whole extraterrestrials theme was weak and doesn't feel right. I felt it didn't really go anywhere; the film seemed to be based around dreadful metal skulls, I wanted the old Indy back! The whole 'X Files' thing going on was pretty much unrecognisable and in my opinion was the worst thing in the film. The script was powerless and shaky for an Indiana Jones movie, and there was even a point where I was cringing . The shoddy C.G.I was just fuel to the fire.
On a better note, the cast was in top shape. Apart from Cate Blanchett doing my head in with her awful mixed accent, I was pleasantly surprised and loved the actors. Harrison Ford was brilliant. He did little wrong, and I liked the way he confessed, in character, that he wasn't a young man anymore. I'm glad he didn't carry out a charade of pretending he's in his prime, something a lot of great actors have sadly done in the past. I was greatly surprised Ford would reprise his role so well, but his dry and sly humour is long gone, something that will be missed, but on the whole he was great. Shia LaBeouf was shocking. I saw him first in 'Transformers' and 'Holes' and thought he was very good, but he was outstanding as Mutt. He was very convincing and steals the show more than a few times. I never really found him annoying and was glad he was there, he had some funny scenes and lines and is memorable. John Hurt as Oxley was just painful to watch, seeing he was insane for basically 90% of the movie. It was a relief to see him back to normal, unfortunately it was too late to enjoy by then. Karen Allen coming back as Marion Ravenwood was great, I'll admit she overacted a bit, but it was nice to have her back and although she was cheesy, she was fun and lightened the mood. I found Cate Blanchett to have the worst performance out of the lot; she was awful and I could barely stand her throughout. She was not menacing or convincing, just irritating and embarrassing. Irina Spalko did not come alive, it was more of 'Irina Spastic' who did. Ray Winstone wasn't that memorable, but he was good as Mac.
I found the ending and start of 'Kingdom...' to be the weakest. The beginning just didn't do it for me, it just didn't have that same punch as the previous Indiana Jones films. It wasn't thrilling and interesting, which is what really let it down. The ending wasn't much better. It was cheesy and the whole 'Wow I found my long-lost son, I'm so happy' theme plain tacky. I expected more from Spielberg as far as the ending was concerned. However, the action was great and re-created the magic of the previous films. There was suspense, and despite the plot being dull, many parts were intriguing.
All in all, this movie is watchable only for the performances. If you are a die-hard fan, you should go see it. But if not, I'd avoid. Seeing it would probably put you off the other three, which in contrast, are just superb. Indy didn't deserve this.