Hate the tile of the fifth Indiana Jones movie, but after seeing it, really liked the movie itself. I was a little concerned with how Harrison Ford would present as an 80-year-old Indiana Jones, but overall, I felt pretty good about it.
Ever since I heard about it late last year/early this year (?), I've been cautiously optimistic about it. With James Mangold directing and his track record, specifically with "Logan," I had medium-high hopes. Of course I stayed away from reviews and spoilers and aside from one minor (but expected spoiler), I went in not know much other than what I saw on the trailers.
The movie jumped right into a flashback scene, sadly no Paramount logo dissolving into something on screen. But very quickly into seeing Indy as late-30's Indy via CGI. It was pretty cool, but not quite 100% right. Something still seemed off. And Harrison Ford voiced Indy with his current 80-year-old voice and it just didn't sound accurate either.
But the action was pretty good, if a little dark on screen. I thought they had a body double play the part but in a BTS video I saw today, it was Harrison playing Indy, and then they de-aged him via CGI. Pretty cool, to be honest.
I liked the dynamic that Pheobe Waller-Bridge brought to her Helena Shaw role. No nonsense and funny, but also not a "good guy" but more a "questionable guy." I liked that the Nazis were pretty much awful all around, blatantly killing folks just for showing up. Seeing Sallah was a nice touch, but his role was pretty much just fan service, as was Marion at the end.
Lots of action sequences that, though exciting to sit through, didn't do much for any real elevation of the movie or stunts in general. Having Antonio Banderas in a "featured" role that lasted all of 3-4 minutes of screen time was sort of a waste. There were some lulls in the movie, exposition, that sort of thing, and the show was a little long to me.
But. The movie definitely captured the feel and essence of the Indiana Jones movies. The music was spot on. The photography of the movie was so reminiscent of the originals. I thought this one fit so much better than Crystal Skull (though need to rewatch to be sure) in the IJ library.
I must admit, the penultimate scene in Rome, I was about to shed a tear, but then got a huge laugh. I thought there was no way they'd do that. And I'd heard that it was being set up to allow Helena Shaw to carry the IJ torch for future movies. If so, that wasn't obviously telegraphed.
All that said, I am so happy to have one more movie with my lifelong hero, Indiana Jones, and I hope to have much more content via TV or whatever comes next. I enjoyed DoD quite a bit and may even go see it again before long.
