Blu-Ray Review:
Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
By Jason Gillard
*Screenshots are not from the Blu-Ray source.
Movie
I have always been a huge fan of Indiana Jones. It was one of my favorite trilogy's growing up. So when I heard that they were going to make Indiana Jones 4, I was ecstatic. So this is where the problem started for me. There was so much anticipation and I was eagerly anticipating the release so much that I think I hyped it to the point where it could never live up to my expectations. The movie stars Harrison Ford who at 65 looks like he is in phenomenal shape. I was expecting him to look old on screen but I have to say he looks pretty darn good for his age. The movie brings back Karen Allen to play the role she started in Raiders as Marion Ravenwood. Also you have Cate Blanchett playing the bad guy, or should I say bad girl. There was some controversy with the fans about Shia LeBeouf playing the role of Mutt, but I think he did an admiral job. So to put this movie in perspective, it is definitely not as good as the other 3 movies that came before it. I don't think any movie could have lived up to that, I really think you should just enjoy this film for what it is, and that's a fun action packed ride with your favorite character Indiana Jones. My main complaints had to do with the use of CG. When Steven Spielberg set out to film this movie they said they were going to shoot it practically wherever possible. Then someone convinced him they had to do many of the sequences digitally. Personally I think that was a mistake. I have grown to live with it but if they make Indy 5 please get rid of the CG and use miniatures. Overall this is great movie and I am glad that they made it, there is certainly talk that George Lucas is working on story's for a fifth movie and all I can say is get moving we want to take another ride with Indy.
8 out of 10
Video
The transfer on this disc is really well done, almost too good. I had read that Steven Spielberg had actually added grain to the movie to make it look like the other films, but that seems to be gone in this transfer. Everything looks pristine and very sharp. The black levels are really good and even though there is a little grain in some shots it's really not that noticeable. Colours pop off the screen in scenes in bar fight and in the Amazon. Even though this movie has a lot of CG it blends really well with the rest of the picture, which is good. Overall I think Paramount has done a wonderful job with the transfer and Indy fans should be really happy with it.
9 out of 10
Audio
For the audio you are presented with an excellent 5.1 Dolby TrueHD soundtrack. This track is very well done. One thing I noticed right away was how everything seemed balanced. Not too loud and not too soft. There are many sequences with bass but it's not over done. One of the best examples of this is a sequence involving a large waterfall. The surround channels are also very active bringing the world of Indiana Jones alive. An example of this would be the car chase through the jungle. I would be remiss if I didn't mention John Williams iconic score that comes across very well when it's needed. Overall this is a great track and probably one of the best on Blu-ray.
9 out of 10
Extras
For this two disc release here is what you get in the way of extras:
Disc 1
Featurette: "The Return of a Legend
Featurette: "Pre-Production"
Theatrical Trailers
Indiana Jones Timeline
Disc 2
Production Diaries
Featurette: "Warrior Makeup"
Featurette: "The Crystal Skulls"
Featurette: "Iconic Props"
Featurette: "The Effects of Indy"
Featurette: "Adventures in Post-Production"
Featurette: "Closing: Team Indy"
Pre-Visualization Sequences
Still Galleries
There is a lot of material here and a lot of it is very well done. The best part is it's all in HD, like it should be. It's going to be hard to name just a few extras that I liked, because to be honest I really liked almost all of them. On disc one I liked "The Return of a Legend". This is a look back at the long, long development process to get this movie made. It has interviews with all the key people, plus a lot of behind the scenes footage. On disc 2, I really liked the Production Diaries which is a six part look at the making of the film. It looks at almost everything and it spans 80 minutes. I also liked the "Iconic Props", just for the simple reason that you get to see the Ark of the Covenant, even if it's only brief. One of main criticisms with the movie was the CG used. But I really enjoyed "The Effects of Indy". I was surprised that there were some elements in the film that I didn't even know where CG. Overall Indy fans should rejoice that they are treated to a great set of extras.
9 out of 10
Overall
If your a fan of Indy then there is no reason why you shouldn't have this film in your collection. The Blu-ray brings us a great picture, awesome sound, and a truck load of extras. Paramount has done a great job here and you should definitely pick this one up.
9 out of 10
Highly Recommended
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is available for pre-order at Amazon.com. It will release on October 14, 2008