Indiana Jones vs Ninotchka
The Good:
Two hours absolutely fly by.
Cate Blanchett’s delightful villainy.
Ford’s most relaxed acting in fifteen years, aging comfortably.
Terrific by-play between Ford, LaBoeuf, and Allen.
Thrilling, often hilarious action scenes.
A surprising richness in character, back-story, checking off earlier episodes.
Nifty, often very funny ‘50s touches – the drag racers at the beginning, the dummy A-Bomb village, the Greaser/College Kid fight, etc.
The Not-so-good: A really clunky plot and some flaccid story development.
Too much The Mummy/National Treasure level cartoonish action flourishes, gizmos, plot points, CGI creepy crawlies.
Lacks the grit of Raiders and Temple of Doom.
Poor use of Ray Winstone in foolish role.
Lack of strong melodramatic stake in story, like saving the world from Nazism (Raiders), freeing enslaved children (Temple of Doom) – Commies just don’t have the same punch, and the McCarthyism references feel confused – leading to
Anti-climactic climax. Though Blanchett’s demise is a gas.
When did Indy become so Republican?
Monkeys?
Possible prejudices: I dislike The Last Crusade which many now cite as the best episode and the one Spielberg and Lucas apparently must wanted to honor. The third auteur to have a hand in Indy’s creation was Philip Kaufman, and Indy in many ways still resembles Kaufman’s grumpy anti-heroic males more than Spielberg’s Everymen and Lucas’ Styrofoam knights.
The Verdict:
Flawed, but it’s a largely a pleasant surprise.