The Bottom Line

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, Shia LeBeouf, Ray Winstone,
Rated:PG-13 for adventure violence and scary images.
Parental Notes: This film is about the same as the other Indiana Jones movies, a solid PG-13. Some youngsters may find the film a bit too intense (the scary images include people being eaten alive by ants as well as chases, fights, and freaky tribesmen with spears and other weapons, not to mention corpses, skeletons, and aliens). Most preteens and older should be fine.

It's been nearly twenty years since the last Indiana Jones movie, but George Lucas and Steven Spielberg have dusted the franchise off and brought out a new one: "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." It's at a distinct disadvantage: after two decades, the earlier films have ascended to a sort of sainthood with the fans, and it's hard to live up to that (a fact you'd think Lucas would've learned with his Star Wars prequels). The best way to enjoy the new film is to leave your expectations at the door. Indy is back, but there are some differences and if you're hoping for a film that lives up to your fond memories of the first three, "Kingdom" will likely be a disappointment. If all you want is a ride through exotic locales on a crazy adventure, you will have a much better time.

The film gets off to a bit of a slow start, with our hero not even appearing on screen until after a long sequence involving a bunch of teens racing an Army convoy out in the desert. We catch up with Indy (Harrison Ford), who along with his friend Mac (Ray Winstone) has been kidnapped by Soviets and brought to that warehouse full of wooden crates we've seen in previous films. The Soviets, led by the psychic researcher Dr. Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett) are after a particular box and since Indy worked on it some time back, they figure he can find it. They figure right, but fail to anticipate Indy fighting back. Once Indy starts the ruckus, the film finally gets onto a more familiar track, with car chases, bullwhip action, and fisticuffs. Indy even manages to survive a nuclear test blast through some quick thinking (and a bit of movie physics).

After a brief break where the FBI menaces Indy and costs him his teaching job (this is the 50s, after all, and hanging around with Soviets puts you on some serious blacklists), Indy teams up with a young biker, Mutt (Shia LeBeouf) to ... well, it's rather complex. Let's just say that Indy and Mutt are soon in the jungle racing to rescue Professor "Ox" Oxley (John Hurt), who has gone mad while researching the titular crystal skull. Of course Dr. Spalko and her friends are also interested in the skull, for legends say that if you return the crystal skull to the ancient city it was stolen from, you will receive untold power.

So, we have Soviets instead of Nazis and the Cold War instead of World War II, but otherwise the film is pretty much a standard Indy flick, right? Well, not quite. The underpinnings of this one are pure science fiction instead of archaeological/religious. I won't say more at the risk of spoiling the big reveal, but I will say that Indy purists may be upset by the sci-fi stuff.

The movie is a fun ride, with plenty of over-the-top action (including a rapier fight conducted on two jeeps speeding through the jungle) and supernatural shenanigans. Ford is in fine form as Indy, and if the final scene of the movie is any suggestion, he has no plans to pass his iconic hat to a successor at the moment. It's a lot of fun to see Karen Allen as Marion again (remember her from "Raiders of the Lost Ark"?), and while the plotline which brings her back into Indy's life is a bit predictable, complaining that an Indy film is predictable seems to defeat the purpose of going to see it in the first place.

Speed Racer

Directed by: Larry and Andy Wachowski
Starring: Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon
Rated: PG for sequences of action, some violence and language.
Parental Notes: This is a movie aimed squarely at kids. The racing scenes may be a bit intense for very young kids, but kids old enough to watch Saturday morning cartoons should be fine.

The Wachowski brothers' new movie, "Speed Racer," is something of a hybrid between their second and/or third Matrix movies (they're kind of indistinguishable, after all) and a giant bowl of every sugared cereal you can find, all mixed together. Its super-saturated colors and thrilling race sequences are thrilling, but there's not much in the way of solid underlying content.

It feels a lot like a Saturday-morning cartoon done on the big screen and in live action -- which makes sense, because that's what it is. I missed out on the old "Speed Racer" cartoons, alas, but I imagine they are an improvement on the movie, which has about as much plot as a single cartoon episode but is four and a half times as long. At least the racing sequences are amazing.

The story is simple: Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch), middle son of the Racer family, has always loved racing. Speed is so talented that he has sponsors begging for him to drive on their teams, but he knows they are all corrupt and won't take their money. When one jilted sponsor informs him that all the big races are fixed and without a sponsor Speed will never win, Speed decides to fight back the only way he can: by racing and winning. Soon he joins forces with Inspector Detector (Benno Fuhrmann) and the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox) to bring down the sponsors once and for all!

The races are the only part of the movie that is worth much, and they are eye-poppingly wonderful. These cars don't just race along the ground, they jump, flip, bounce, and even have weapons attachments for taking out the competition. The races are won by a combination of speed and strategically causing opponents to crash. Of course, all cars are equipped with a safety feature that bounces the driver out in a ball of safety foam so nobody is injured in the collisions. The film's bright, super-saturated colors and bizarre locations (some of the race courses have loops and missing bits of track that must be jumped across, and there's a cross-country race that goes through desert as well as icy mountains) make the racing sequences an unreal feast for the eyes.

It seems unfair to complain about thin plot and lack of character development in a movie based on a television cartoon, so I won't. I will just say, don't go into "Speed Racer" expecting to enjoy the scenes between the races if you're over the age of ten. They are standard Saturday-morning fare, overwrought and full of cliches. Fine for kids, but parents may wind up rolling their eyes. Even so, if your interest is piqued, this is a movie worth seeing on the big screen. The racing sequences are worth the wait through the exposition if you love big, fast, and beautiful special effects.

Iron Man

Directed by: Jon Favreau
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges
Rated: PG-13 for some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and brief suggestive content.
Parental Notes: This is a fairly-rated PG-13 film. The action is intense but not gruesome and the sensuality is there but with less nudity than you'd see at a public pool.

First, a confession: I have never read a single "Iron Man" comic. I know of the character, but largely from reading Wikipedia out of curiosity after seeing the movie trailer. So, I can't really judge whether fans of the source material will enjoy the film. I can say, however, that I loved it. Sure, it's pretty ridiculous in spots, but it's a superhero movie -- if you can't suspend your disbelief pretty darn thoroughly, you have no business even buying a ticket.

The story is at bottom a change-of-heart tale. Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr., "Zodiac") is an irresponsible, womanizing, hard-drinking genius, a brilliant weapons designer and CEO who is unbelievably wealthy because his company's weapons are the best. When he is kidnapped by terrorists wielding weapons he designed, his eyes are opened to the horrors he has unleashed. He constructs a a suit of powered armor so he and a fellow prisoner can escape, and returns home looking to change the direction of his company.

He soon finds himself on a forced mental health leave, shut out by the board of directors. He puts the time to good use, improving his armor design and turning himself into a superhero. Good thing, too, because when he learns that his second-in-command has been selling weapons under the table to terrorists, he is able fly off to destroy their weapons caches. Of course, no self-respecting supervillain would stand for that kind of behavior, and soon Tony finds himself up against a foe who poses a serious threat to his life and his new ideals.

Downey is fantastic, turning in a better performance than the film requires. His own life experiences seem to have helped him fit into the role of someone living in the public eye and struggling with his identity, and he is able to win the audience over even while being the party-hardy jerk of the film's first act.

The rest of the cast mostly rise to meet him. Many of the roles are thoroughly one-dimensional, but nobody seems to be sleepwalking through their parts. Gwyneth Paltrow puts in a good turn as Stark's assistant and nascent love interest Pepper Potts, and Jeff Bridges leaves a few teeth marks in the scenery as the grandfatherly villain, Obadiah Stane. Terrance Howard is given the thankless task of being Jim Rhodes, the military straight man to Tony Stark's playboy. He steps up and plays the role seriously, though, which is good. I hope if there are sequels he'll be given a bit more to do than shake his head ruefully at Tony's antics.

The special effects, always vitally important to this sort of film, are wonderful. There are plenty of exciting explosions, gunfire bouncing off nigh-indestructible shields, and the various armored suits are works of art, each in their own way. Stan Winston Studios and Industrial Light and Magic worked together to create physical and digital effects which meld together very, very well. The days of cheesy CGI effects seem to be over.

"Iron Man" is a thoroughly enjoyable movie. Sure, there are some pretty ludicrous events that have to be overlooked -- stretch your suspension of disbelief muscles beforehand or you might sprain something -- but the film overall is a fun ride. A trifle predictable in spots (aren't all superhero movies?), but with enough humor, action, and good acting to help us be forgiving. This is a big summer movie come a little early, and well worth paying to see on the big screen if you're into that kind of thing. Oh, and a little tip: be sure to stay until after the credits.