Man Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was such a good movie.

And then they made another one.

Honestly, it’s not as bad as I remembered.

Harrison Jones isn’t getting younger… but he still really makes Indiana Jones. Full stop.

I bet they were expecting this film (and especially Shia LeBeouf’s Mutt) to go better and possibly pass the torch. It was an echo of the same dynamic as Indy and his father in The Last Crusade. Just not quite done as well.

It was kind of fun to see the Soviets be the bad guys this time around and it more or less fits this new, older Indy.

Dean Charles Stanforth: I barely recognize this country anymore. The government’s got us seeing Communists in our soup. When the hysteria reaches academia, I guess it’s time to call it a career.

On top of that, seeing Karen Allen’s Marion Ravenwood again after all these years? And with the obvious fallout of that? That was more fun than I expected.

And man. Cate Blanchett act the heck out of that role. But still, she just wasn’t as much a villain as previous films.

And of course–the action scenes. A bit more over the top than previous movies? Do you even remember the roller coaster mine cart of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom?

I enjoyed the opening in the warehouse. The nuclear bomb-fridge scene has been talked about to death. The motorcycle chase (through the library!) was a lot of fun.

Indiana Jones: You want to be a good archaeologist…
[Mutt drives them out of the building on his motorcycle]
Indiana Jones: … you’ve got to get out of the library!

The jungle fight between the jeeps was pretty cool–but the Tarzan bits? a bit much… The temple was technically neat, even if it didn’t make much sense. And the alien finale wasn’t really that much weirder than centuries old knights and Nazi face melting artifacts.

Overall, I think I’d place it above Temple of Doom, but below Raiders and the Last Crusade. A fun action flick and–not as bad as I initially thought.