Jury's still out...

It's 3am and I just got back from the midnight showing of the latest installment of the Indiana Jones series, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Unlike the most recent feature in the Star Wars saga released in 2005, there was no long line in which to stand outside the theater tonight. In fact, the theater (which was showing Indy on all 10 of its screens) wasn't even close to being sold out. There were plenty of seats to be had throughout. While I very much enjoyed the movie, I don't think it lived up to the spirit of the original trilogy. The first three films all had great action, plucky humor and mythical elements... and we all willingly and joyfully suspended our disbelief in exchange for fun and lighthearted entertainment. In the Crystal Skull however, the dynamic has changed (as one might expect after 19 years- aging actors, as well as filmmakers), but rather than 'feeling' cheery when exiting the theater this early morning, I was 'thinking'.... thinking more "give me a break"s than I'd have hoped. In short, it's worth seeing, but with its lackluster script and almost amateur lighting in some scenes (something one shouldn't even notice when watching a film... ok, ok so I worked in the film business for years, but still, the DP could have done better), I feel like it was a bit uninspiring overall.... almost cheesy, rather than the fun tongue-in-cheek of the others. I feel that Harrison Ford did a good job as his revived famed character, but in the Crystal Skull, I felt a little like he was the George Lazenby of the series, whereas Ford's original portrayal was the Sean Connery (diehard Bond lovers will know what I mean). That's to say that whereas Harrison seemed to play Indiana Jones in this latest movie, he was Indiana Jones in the others. I have to let the film sink in to make my final call. I'm interested to hear your comments after you've seen the movie.