Toon Talk: Whip Crackin’

Twenty-seven years ago, on movie screens all over the world, a hero was born, and his name was Indiana Jones. Inspired by the swashbuckling adventurers of the past, this hero was a classic in every sense of the word: honorable, intelligent, patriotic, even a little rough around the edges. As brought to life in the motion picture Raiders of the Lost Ark by director Steven Spielberg, producer George Lucas and actor Harrison Ford, Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones Jr. embodied heroism for many a moviegoer in the summer of 1981 … and beyond.

And although his follow up film adventures (his trip to the Temple of Doom in 1984, his so-called Last Crusade in 1989) may have failed to live up to the pure wonder and adrenalin of his first escapade (at least in my eyes), his stature as one of the great movie heroes has never wavered (he was even named the number two movie hero of all time in an American Film Institute poll in 2003). Through the years, a television series, comic books, video games and Disney theme park attractions have been added to the mix, and now, nineteen years after his last big screen adventure, the man with the whip is back in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (in theaters now).

Does the new film live up to the legacy of Raiders? Not quite, but it isn’t a poke in the eye like Lucas’ Star Wars prequels either. What it is is a fun thrill ride of a movie that only really jumps the tracks at its somewhat preposterous climax; but in the meantime, it delivers a rollicking cinematic adventure that should satisfy most fans who’ve been jonesing for this particular brand of Indy action for almost twenty years now.

Click here to continue reading my Toon Talk review of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull at LaughingPlace.com.

UPDATE: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is now available on DVDfrom Amazon.com.