Oh, when will it Indy?
May 15th, 2008, 3:29 pm · Post a Comment · posted by couthier
The press screening for arguably the most anticipated movie since “The Phantom Menace” is this weekend - I’m speaking, naturally, of “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” - and I fully expect a Class Five geekasm to accompany the entire thing.
But I do have several nagging fears/concerns about the latest installment of Steven Spielberg’s adventure franchise. To wit:
1) I’m decidely less-than-stoked with Shia LaBoeuf’s casting as Indy’s 50s-rebel sidekick. His work in “Disturbia” and “Transformers” notwithstanding, I’m not convinced LaBoeuf is anything more than a flavor-of-the-month… one of those runty, boyish, perpetually-pubescent actors who plays teenagers in a few big movies but is ultimately ill-suited for leading man stardom. Like Ralph Macchio. And, er, Mark Hamill.
2) George Lucas. The visionary creator and producer of the Indy franchise is no longer the zeitgeist genius he once was. I mean, we all agree that the “Star Wars” prequels - despite their profitability - were generally plastic, soulless gewgaws, right? And I worry that some of his puerile sensibilities might have crept onto the “Crystal Skull” set, too.
3) Me. I’m in my mid-30s. I still enjoy “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and the sequels, but is my calloused viscera still capable of being twisted into a knot, as it was on that afternoon in 1980 when I saw that Nazi bastard’s face melt for the first time? I dunno. If there’s a face-melting scene in “Crystal Skull” (or something comparable) I’ll let you know.
