OUR REVIEW
by Dave White
Who's in It: Harrison Ford, Shia LaBeouf, Karen Allen, Cate Blanchett, Ray Winstone
The Basics: Indy finds himself in the middle of a hunt for a mysterious magnetic object that will unlock
a whole lot of secret knowledge and power. No, it's not the Ark again. I said magnetic. Anyway, he'll
also cross paths with a former flame (Allen), battle a very wacky Russian (Blanchett), have a tag-
along annoyance (LaBeouf), an untrustworthy sidekick (Winstone) and at least one run-in with —
and you knew this already because it's just famously part of his ongoing story — snakes.
What's the Deal? Let's see if I can review this with no spoilery details. I mean, yes, I just told you
about the snakes. But that's not exactly the same thing. How's this: It's exactly what you think it will
be and exactly what most people will want it to be. It's got plenty of excitement and funny, over-the-
top unrealism; the story is ludicrously entertaining; and Ford doesn't try to be 30 years younger
(well, not much). If there's anything to complain about, it's that you've been here before, and so
there's no real surprise coming your way. But again, for me, that's not much of a complaint.
What to Look For: The difference between digital and analog effects. Either digital stuff has gotten
so good that it seems three-dimensionally real, or quite a few old-fashioned mechanical-style booby-
traps were built for the actors to play on like a whole film's worth of jungle gyms. Either way, it's a
blast to watch.
You'll Love, or You'll Hate: Blanchett, as the severe, she-wolfish, Russian clairvoyant. She fully
understands the cartoon she's signed on to be in, and she leaps around and sword-fights her way
into redefining what "over the top" means.
How Annoying Is Shia LaBeouf? Not nearly as much as you'd expect. In fact, it seems that this was
anticipated by the filmmakers, so they went out of their way to make his character already sort of a
tool that you begin hating and learn to not-dislike by movie's end. So that was a smart move.