Friday 23 May 2008

"No time for love, Doctor Jones..."

There's nothing quite like skipping out for the afternoon to go to the cinema. It's slightly disorienting, especially if you're like me, someone who finds themselves able to get absorbed in a film to quite a degree. To walk back out into sunlight, and suddenly find that no, you're not in South America with Indiana Jones, you're in Liverpool and you have things to collect from the office... Well, it's a little disappointing.

Unlike "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" which is pretty darn good. It's not quite up to level of the previous Indiana Jones films; I can't quite put my finger on it, it's possibly just because I like those three films so much. It's definitely not that Harrison Ford is too old for the role as some had suggested; he's still Indiana Jones, no doubt about it, and the film is a really good action-comedy. Perhaps the humour just doesn't have the same edge that it does in the earlier films. Perhaps in some places it's just a little too knowing with some of the references to the earlier films. Personally I think it's that some of the action sequences are too over the top, too 21st century and lacking in the reality that the earlier films had - but even then the action sequences in the new film are great fun to watch.

At the end of the day, this could have been a huge letdown, but it's not. While it lacks for something that the earlier films had it doesn't disappoint as a great summer action film.

Right, now, hopefully I can get my stuff together in the next half hour and head for home. Long weekend time; have to get some viva preparation done (I'm defending my thesis in just over a week!) and will be spending a bit of time this weekend working on 101/1001 goals.

Oh, and I've just started reading "The Yiddish Policemen's Union" by Michael Chabon, and so far I'm liking it a lot.

Be good people! More soon.

5 comments:

kimz said...

Have a safe trip. We'll miss you. ;)
Maybe hubby will wanna see the new movie with me for date night... a marathon of the old Indiana Jones movies might be in order huh? ...to contrast and compare.
Take care!

Amanda said...

I can't wait to watch the movie. I know I'll love it no matter what :)

NathanRyder said...

kimz - I live at home! And (usually) write from uni, so I was just getting together papers and stuff to take home with me and study over the weekend :) Nice to know you care :)

Amanda - I'm sure you'll like it. Thinking about it a day on, there were just so many times I had a big silly grin on my face :)

Bethany said...

You answered my question without me needing to wait! :)

I just heard good things about the book you started. I think I will need to read that too.

Anonymous said...

I went to see Indy with my Mum and she jumped and nearly grabbed the hand of the guy next to us.

I liked it but it was kinda hard to date where it was set until about 10 mins in when they start mentioning mcCarthy and the witch hunts (post WW2 50's and 60's I think) and I only know that cos I studied it in history.

the end was a little unbelievable with the aliens whereas the other Indy's were a little more believable.