Cinema review
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Starring Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, Shia LeBeouf
Release date 22 May 2008 (UK & US)

Indiana Jones returns to action in 1957, where he becomes involved in a Soviet plot to unlock the secret of human mind control…

Oh dear, where to even start? If you hoped that the new Indiana Jones movie would feature extraterrestrial beings, comic relief prairie dogs and an obnoxious leather jacket wearing, rock ‘n’ roll lovin’ teenager then this is the summer picture for you. However, if that brief description fills you with dread then prepare to be broken hearted.

Sure, Indy 4 comes up trumps with a handful of set pieces (Ford’s explosive escape from Area 51 and a jungle car chase that doesn’t stop for air are both highlights) but the plot is so daft, and the supporting characters so forgettable, that this long-awaited sequel soon becomes a drag to endure. Worst of all is Spielberg’s decision to bring back Allen as a love interest. Although the star of Raiders of the Lost Ark has aged well, her performance in this boils down to nothing more than smiling like an 18-year-old in love and mugging knowingly at the camera.

Likewise, LeBeouf's rebellious teen sidekick is too cocky and smug to be endearing. The sequence where he swings through vines in the Amazon wilderness (complete with “hilarious” CGI monkeys) is so cartoon-like that its very inclusion serves only to drag the viewer out of the plot at hand. Lead villainess Blanchett should be comedy gold as the flick’s sultry Soviet megalomaniac but, onscreen, she radiates a likeability and sexiness that makes her no threat at all to our hat-clad hero.

The end result is to the original Indiana Jones trilogy what Alien Resurrection was to that franchise – a tired, preposterous and, ultimately, pointless attempt at cash-fleecing from a group of Hollywood royalty that really should know better. Calum Waddell

VERDICT: 5/10
Back to blockbuster 101 class for you Mr. Spielberg!

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