[2 Sentences or Less]

I’ve seen the Indiana Jones series more times than I’d like to admit, but this was the first time I’ve actually watched it in a movie theater. Here’s four things you should know about Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull…

1. Fanboys will be happy — Much like George Lucas did with the Star Wars prequels, this movie referenced scenes, script and even visual shtick from all previous movies. It works in most parts of the film, but only the die-hards will catch the déjà vu. Test your level of Indy knowledge - see if you can catch the references to episodes of the “Young Indiana Jones Chronicles” television series!
2. George and Stephen tried really hard to make the wait worthwhile — Unfortunately, they almost tried too hard. The references mentioned above got a little tedious and forced at times. This will go completely unnoticed to people that didn’t grow up on Indy, but will certainly be of notice for the fanboys.
3. Indy doesn’t work well in the 50s — Indiana Jones is in his element in the 30s! As you have probably heard, NAZIs were replaced by Russians and for a brief moment you get a taste of the Red Scare and Indy’s participation in WW II. I’m sure the intent was to provide back story on where Indiana Jones has been for 20 years, but it was too little information and barely important to the plot.
4. The CGI didn’t work — Several stories have been written about how Stephen Spielberg had to abandon his old-school approach and turn to computer animation when envisioning this movie. Unfortunately, it felt very heavy-handed throughout. For example, much of the movie  visually appeared to be a colorized version an old black and white film - gauzy, slightly unfocused and pastel colors.

So, all that being said, am I glad I went to a midnight showing? Absolutley! Not only did I beat my brother-in-law and other diehards to a viewing, but the movie made me want to watch again and see if I caught anything new. My theater was full on a Wednesday night at midnight. The same feat was not accomplished by Iron Man (which I also say at a midnight showing.)