Overall, I enjoyed it ...
Criticisms:
- Tarzan scene was pretty goofy. But, at least he didn't do the Tarzan call ...
- Unlikely a lead-lined refrigerator survives a nuclear explosion unless it is on the very outskirts of the blast radius -- however, this can be somewhat forgiven because of the rocking image of a silhouetted Indiana Jones standing in front of a mushroom cloud.
- I don't mind the alien bit ... but I do wish a bit more had been left to the imagination. Overall, I believe I'd have chosen a more mainstream religious trinket rather than an Area 51 story ... but, I think it still worked.
- I wish Sallah, Short Round, Willie, etc. had been in the wedding scene. Maybe even a couple cameos from YIJC and Lucas/Speilberg themselves.
Positives:
- Action set pieces were quite good. Jungle/Jeeps, motorcycles, cemetary, warehouse, etc. were well done and blended well with the story.
- Ants were nice and creepy.
- I liked LeBauf's character a lot more than I thought I would.
- The Indy/Mutt play was very reminscient of Sr./Jr. in LC ... nice touch.
- I liked the subtle (and not so subtle) homages to other movies ... "bad feeling", Brody statue, "grandfather is laughing", "this is intolerable", Indy glaring at Mutt as he laughs at broken statue (like Sr. and Jr. in LC), etc.
- There were quite a few iconic images of a silhouetted Jones in various environments ... very picturesque movie.
- Movie was well paced, exciting, and beautiful to look at.
- Campus chase and firing were first time Indy's scholarly life and adventurer life intersected quite so heavily.
- Good blend of archeologist/jungle/temple scenes, and "modern" stuff. LC seemed a bit too modern for my tastes ... not quite rustic enough for me (i.e. a large portion of the movie was in Venice, a modern city).
I agree with some who have said that this isn't as good as Raiders. Ultimately, it isn't ... and neither were TOD or LC. TOD was far to stagnant (i.e. little travel, too much of the movie occurred in the same locale), the supernatural voodoo plot was retarded, the Shankara stones were uninspiring as a trinket ... but, the action scenes, characters, and dialogue were great. LC was more humorous, and more modern looking. I liked all three sequels -- but Raiders simply cannot be matched. Raiders ranks up there with Gladiator, the Departed, etc. among the best action/dramas of all time.
I rank Kingdom about even with Crusade (maybe a little behind, because I liked the grail artifact better than the skull -- but very comparable). I liked it better than TOD, but not near as much as Raiders. Ultimately, Crusade and Kingdom were both VERY well made Mummy-type movies -- fun action romps that carried the Raiders characters and backstory. Imminently watchable, great action, great characters, etc ... but Raiders is a pretty high bar.
KBZ