Indiana Jones 4 (no spoilers)

I was excited when I first heard that there would be another installment in the Indiana Jones series. I saw it tonight on the big screen, and it was OK. I think that because it's been so long since the last one, people are willing to endure anything in order to see Harrison Ford dress up as Indy one more time. If this had come out after Temple of Doom, it wouldn't have been received as warmly, and wouldn't have been considered as good as The Last Crusade. If I were to rank the movies, I would say:

The Last Crusade >= Raiders > Crystal Skull >> Temple of Doom

The latest installment is definitely a cut above Temple of Doom (which I consider to be only slightly better than the Alan Quartermain movies), but it is definitely behind Raiders. I consider Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade to be on par with one another.

What wasn't so hot?

• Pretty much everything about Cate Blanchette's character sucked. Her makeup, her fake wig, her accent, her acting, and her script. You never really feel her character is evil, just kind of bland. She's never cruel or mean, just there. BORING.
  
• Shia LeBoeuf. He was OK in parts, but there was some definite over-acting, especially at the beginning, which was dumb. Harrison Ford is there, acting like he's a real person, and Shia is there acting like he's in a high school musical. Terrible.
  
• The CGI. It's Indiana Jones, not Star Wars. A couple of the CGI scenes are just stupid. CGI looks fake at a certain level, and until the technology improves, it always will look fake.
  
• The main plot device. I can't say anything more about it without giving away some of the plot, but I will say that the 'artifact' that Indy is after is too Sci-Fi and leaves you wondering if you just left a Kubrick film. The sad truth is that you aren't really sure why they're after what they're after in the end. At the end of Raiders, they found the Ark. At the end of the Last Crusade, they find the Holy Grail. Even in Temple of Doom, they're after some sacred stones. But this? Well, it's a little strange and you're never really sure what the purpose of the film is.
  
• Marion. She's back, but turns out to be a shallow, fat, giggly girl. How fucking boring.
  
• The fucking gophers. They were given only seconds of screen time, but the instant I saw them, I was thinking "Oh shit, it's another Jar-Jar." Fortunately, this didn't pan out.
  

What's great?

• Harrison Ford. He really carries this film. He can act, and he's perfect in the Indy role, even at 65.
  
• The action scenes. For the most part, they are well done. Unfortunately, action scenes don't make a movie.
  
• The way the action scenes glue the movie together. The first three string action scenes together to move the movie along, but they are held together by an underlying plot. This movie has less of a plot, but the fact that it moves from one action scene to another keeps the movie rolling along, quite surprisingly. It's rare to see this happen in a movie without it turning into a turd.
  
• The Russians. There are some Russians in uniform, and they did them right. They hired real Russians so the accents would be authentic. I saw this movie tonight with a Russian, and even he was impressed. Too bad they couldn't say the same for Cate Blanchette.
  
• Family history. You get to see a little family history of Indy, and some of the story of Indy's life unfolds.
  
• Nostalgia. There are numerous homages to previous films, and previous characters that we have all fallen in love with.
  

Apparently there were supposed to be 5 Indiana Jones films originally. It'll be interesting to see if Harrison Ford makes another one. Perhaps it'll be Indiana Jones and the Bottle of Blue Pills. I'm guessing it will come out right after Sean Connery makes his last Bond film, Octagenerian Pussy.