REVIEW:
The good news about Indy 5 is that it definitely feels like an Indiana Jones movie. Unlike the last movie, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which was by far the worst in the series, this one feels like it stepped right out of the eighties when that trilogy of films was made. Only it isn’t quite as good as any of those. You see, we are in a different time now, and of a different generation. We’ve seen it all in terms of action, from the Matrix to Mission Impossible to Marvel Superhero movies, and seeing this aging archaeologist throw his whip around doesn’t quite cut it. It doesn’t have the same kind of excitement that it once had, when Harrison Ford was all the rage and the biggest movie star in the world.
The movie does present Indy as an older man here, using de-aging technology only for the first sequence, which is a flashback. The rest of the movie is set in the sixties, during the time of the space race, and it’s fun to see Indy trying to navigate this new world of hippies and space sensations. But the story still feels familiar and in the vein of all other Indy films, with the villains being Nazis (not Russians like in the last movie,) who are obsessed with a time travel artifact. It’s a fine story and Mads Mickelson always makes for a good villain. As directed by uber-talented filmmaker James Mangold, this guy accomplishes exactly what he set out to do, as he delivers a movie that feels right at home with the others. But it still doesn’t have the wow factor that would enable it to stand up and stand apart from movies of today. Like the Jurassic World movies, which tried to capture the feelings from Jurassic Park, something were just of their time, and don’t quite work as well today, no matter how close the movies may feel like and resemble each other.