the oracle

My main concern before seeing the movie was how Harrison's Ford/Indiana Jones' age was going to be handled. I was afraid it was going to feel like an old, decrepit actor trying to relive his glory years. Thankfully, the movie didn't have that feeling at all. The movie addresses the fact that Indy's older and there are references and jokes to it here and there throughout the whole film - not so many that it gets annoying, though. In fact, the only age-related complaint I have is about the grandpa pants they put Indy in at the beginning of the movie. Who the hell decided that Indiana Jones should be wearing PLEATED PANTS? Hate.

My other major concern was Shia LaBeouf's character, Mutt. I took a disliking to him from the little bit I saw in the previews, but that changed when I actually saw the movie. He played his character very well, and I'm okay with the idea of him continue on the Indiana Jones name, although I would prefer another transition movie with Harrison Ford before Indy retires. I may be looking into it too much, but I'm choosing to interpret the scene at the end when Indy takes his hat out of Mutt's hands after he picked it up off the floor at the wedding as an indicator that Indy's not quite ready to hang it up yet. Whether that's my overactive imagination or the real intention behind the scene, I thought it was a nice touch.

Initially I was very displeased that Marion was going to be included in the movie. I didn't think much of her character in Raiders, and I was anticipating more of the same. I have to admit, though, she was much better than I thought she was going to be. The way they worked her back in fit with the plot, and I was amused by the way she and Indy bickered back and forth, especially when even the Russian told them to shut up.

The movie was very much along the same lines as the other three with the expected whip action and narrow escapes, and I can't imagine that anyone was surprised by Marion's revelation that Mutt was Indy's son. (Side note: one of my favorite parts of the movie is Indy's rapid change of position on Mutt finishing school after he found out he was his father.) I liked the little references back to the previous movies (ex: showing the Ark in the warehouse scene), and I thought it was cute that the mountain in the typical opening shot turned out to be a prarie dog hill. As far as the MacGuffin went, I'm very interested in the Cities of Gold and Central/South American Indians, so the crystal skull premise drew me in, but then, as I mentioned earlier, I'm a hardcore Indy fangirl, so it's not like I watch these movies to pick them apart. As Mike put it, "If you like the others then you will like this movie. You analyze it any more than that then you shouldn't be watching the Indiana Jones movies to begin with."