I was a little tied up earlier this week so could not make the press screening. So I sent it girl about town Tori “I can raise a million pounds single handedly” Johnson who had this to say…
When you get offered tickets to a preview screening of a film, you automatically hope against hope for it to be one of the films you have been waiting to see for months. In my case, that film is Sex and the City. I’m a thirty-something single woman, with a career, great set of friends and a shoe and handbag collection to rival that of Bloomingdales. I’m also going to New York for my holidays this year, and, at a push, could call watching the film ‘research’…. All this goes to prove that I am most definitely not the demographic for Indiana Jones and the Wotsit of the Crystal Thingy. However, my flatmate is a lifelong Harrison Ford fan (second only to Johnny Depp) so we went.
And I’m glad I did. This film is exactly what an Indiana Jones film should be. If you were expecting the franchise to have been modernised, updated, glamorised or ‘improved’ in any way, then you will be disappointed. The film held my attention throughout with some very well choreographed set-pieces and clever comical action sequences. The film nodded more than once to the previous films (in one part, less of a nod and more of a full convulsion!), but, however tenuous or contrived, it all seemed to work.
The first few scenes made humour out of our aging action hero, but once the film got going, Indy was the man he always was and could be seen flying through the action just as energetically as ever he did. Although, the focus was most definitely on Shia Le Boef who took on the role of young buck beautifully, despite having all the hallmarks of being a bit annoying at the beginning, with his James Dean swagger and DA hairstyle. Without giving anything away, the scene with the monkeys and the vines could have gone horribly wrong, but seemed to work within the setting of unbelievable, fast paced action – think Pirates of the Caribbean meets the Mummy Returns!
John Hurt was fantastic and Ray Winston gave his usual cockney cheeky-chappie performance, no more no less, exactly what was needed. However, the award for best character has to go to Cate Blanchette’s [sorry - can't remember name], who’s sinister, mind-reading, Russian villain was perfectly performed, and almost had you rooting for her at the end.
Thirteen year old boys won’t be disappointed either, there is the obligatory scene with swarms of killer creepy crawlies and plenty of danger to overcome on the way to an epic CGI conclusion!
All in all, very much worth the price of a ticket. Ignore the negative press, this film ticks all the boxes and is destined to become a much loved Christmas Day movie of the future. Oh, and Harrison seems to have usurped Johnny Depp. I’m sure he’ll be thrilled!
