Let’s start off by saying that we at Rough Draft are huge fans of Indiana Jones. We have the DVDs and will gladly stay in on a sunny Saturday afternoon to watch a marathon on USA. When the opening credits began to roll, we even found ourselves humming the familiar, comforting theme song. But with all that being said, the latest installment (and we’re pretty sure there’s going to be a few more), just didn’t work out too well.

The Plot
We won’t say too much about the plot, because well, if you knew more about it, you would second-guess seeing the movie at all…but let’s just say that it’s pretty original and fairly easy to follow. There’s obviously a love story mixed into the whole thing, so be prepared for some serious cheesiness. As for the special effects, well, George Lucas produced the movie, so what do you expect?

Dad, Is That You?
Don’t get me wrong – I love Harrison Ford. I loved him in The Fugitive. I loved him in Air Force One. And hell, I even loved him in Six Days Seven Nights. But let’s get one thing straight – Harrison Ford is an old guy. I mean, he turns 66 next month! He was already 35 when the first Star Wars came out. The fact that he is engaged to Calista Flockhart (who’s a young 42) is straight up amazing. With all that being said, there are a lot of times throughout this movie when you can tell that Harrison just isn’t up for some of the action going on. He gets tired, looks winded, and well, even his whipping skills seem to be lacking. I honestly found myself wondering if my dad could do a better job – but that’s when you have a major problem; when you begin to think your dad can be in a movie.

Give Me More Maps!
The one thing I loved about the first three movies was the mystery behind everything. I liked those images of the plane flying over the drawing of a map so you knew they were chasing something, but when they got there, there was another clue and another twist. Sadly, this version only has two of those fun map scenes, which means there isn’t a lot of hunting around, just a lot of talk and over-dramatic action sequences. For some reason I found myself thinking something I never thought I would ever think – give me Nick Cage and the National Treasure crew.

Overall
Regardless of the weird and crazy plot, this is still Indiana Jones with Harrison Ford as a badass with a whip, so you should see this movie. It has a few good moments and leaves the door open for Shia to take over as the hunky archeologist, which could be interesting. As long as they get some new writers (like someone not in middle school), the series can definitely rebound.