Indy 4.

Indy’s back, and he’s mostly in great form. My biggest complaint about the film is, while it’s basically more of the same as are all of the Indy movies, the fact that they waited this long to make part 4 made me want this to be a big blowout comeback movie, and it really isn’t.

One of the things that I respected the most about the movie is production design that gives this the look and feel of the previous three so that it stands shoulder-to-shoulder. Aside from the stepped up special effects, this movie looks like something that came out of the 80’s (or maybe more appropriately, from the pages of Amazing Stories). Everything from the color choices to the lighting to the over-the-top punching sound effects to the camera angles to the ubiquitous red line connecting the dots on the map really drives it home as a worthy addition to the series and a kindred film production in almost every regard.

The set designs this time around were particularly engrossing… There’s lots of crawling through cobweb-encrusted passages, hidden levers, lightning strikes illuminating a midnight raid of a gravesite, torches that cast a wild glow in the eyes of the adventurers as they uncover the treasure, and of course chambers filled with dusty artifacts. As usual, it’s just more of the same but little motifs like these are the nuts and bolts of what make up the consistent greatness of the Indiana Jones series.

Another motif that returns in great form is the action sequences, which are just one darn thing after another. Aside from a poor misstep early in the film involving a nuclear test site and a trip in a refridgerator, the action sequences are real dazzlers. We get a tip of the fedora to Last Crusade with a visceral motorcycle chase scene where Indy is the reluctant passenger this time around, and dizzying car chases along a precarious cliff in the jungle that includes an unbelievable swordfight atop moving cars as well as a laughable vine swinging sequence through the jungle that feels like it was lifted right out of an adventure comic book from the 50’s. Along the way is the dry sand pit trap, man-eating fireants, lots of burly Russians that never seem to fall, and too many narrow escapes to count.

But what really drives the movie home is the man, Harrison Ford. When we finally get to see him in the Fedora, leather jacket, bullwhip at the side, artifact bag slung over his shoulder, and week-old scruff, it’s the first great taste of what we’ve been missing these past 20 years, and it’s oh so good. The dry one-liners are back in great form, the stunts are as good as they’ve ever been, and the no-nonsense performance by Ford again turns the character into the film’s fulcrum for the action instead of the sole focus. We also get some great performances by Shia LeBeouf as the plucky sidekick and Kate Blanchett as the Russian femme fatale with an over-the-top accent and sword as her preferred weapon. Karen Allen makes a return as Marion Ravenwood in a very serviceable but ultimately uninteresting performance. Even John Hurt is along for the ride as the wise old professor that’s been brainwashed by supernatural forces and delivers a good performance with what limited material he’s given.

The only negative points I can count are the nuclear test site scene that really falls flat and seems out of place, and a bit of a letdown at the very end. The grand revealing of the mystery isn’t very satisfying, especially after the rollercoaster ride that led up to it.

Overall, it’s definitely worthy of the legacy. It’s one of the weaker films but in my opinion they are all so close in quality that I can’t call it disappointing. It’s big cheesy fun just like you were hoping for.