Admittedly, I went to the theater with low expectations, and the movie was better than I expected. Clearly better than Crystal Skull.
Some thoughts:
* I loved the initial set piece. I watched it with a grin on my face, like I watched the first three movies. The rejuvenation effects were good. Maybe he did not look exactly the same as Harrison Ford looked in the 80s movies (I don't know, a bit more clean-cut, perhaps?) but it was good enough to completely avoid that uncanny valley effect when it looks almost right but not quite. It was a thrilling extended sequence, and I wouldn't have minded a whole movie like that.
* After that, the pace of the movie is different from the other movies. There is a lot of action, of course, but the pace is not as relentless. I did not get bored (even though the movie is long at 2 hours and a half!), but it was not quite as thrilling as the 80s movies. Which is natural, I think, because Ford is 80, and I think such a relentless pace would not have worked, unless it was all with rejuvenation like in the beginning.
* Mads Mikkelsen was really good as the villain.
* There's controversy about Phoebe Waller-Bridge's character, but I liked her work. Helena Shaw was not very likable for a lot of the movie, but that's because of how the character is designed, not because of the actress' work. Yes, Indy in the beginning of his career was after fortune and glory, but he was never as cynical and ruthless as Helena Shaw is for most of the movie. I would have liked a few more character moments with her to explain how she went from trapping Indy with the nazis so that she could escape in the beginning of the movie, to doing crazy action stunts to save him in the last part.
* I liked Harrison Ford here, more than I did in Crystal Skull. I thought he looked too old in Skull. Here, for obvious reasons, he looks older, but I thought the movie adjusted well to that fact, instead of pretending that it was the same as in the 80s. At the same time, I thought his action scenes were convincing, and his punches still looked serious.
* PWD was the co-lead in this movie, more so than any of the characters accompanying Indy in any of the other movies. However, I personally did not feel that it was at the expense of Indy's role. I thought it made sense that he would have another character to take some of the weight of the action, because 80-year-old Ford doing the huge amount of physical scenes that he did in the older movies might have been too much.
* More importantly, I did not feel that this movie took away from Indy's status as a hero. I am one of those who are pissed off at Disney for their handling of Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, so I was wary of the reports about PWD's protagonism. But no, Indy is still a hero and is still kicking ass as much as it's possible for a character played by an 80-year-old actor.
* The kid (Teddy) was cold. He was even more money-focused than Helena, and he killed that nazi guy during the underwater scene without being traumatized. I don't get why they established that he couldn't swim when he was on the ship, only to have him do that underwater stunt later. I liked how he cared about Helena, though.
* Thankfully, no awful CGI scenes like Mutt swinging from tree to tree.
* The time travel... Yeah, it worked for me. Quite thrilling, the whole thing in the past. I was quite wary of this concept, because in Skull, the whole mental powers/aliens/extradimensional beings thing did not quite work for me. I felt it was too much. But this was a more solid story than Skull, and I thought it was enjoyable and fit better within Indy's world.
* John Rhys-Davies had nice cameos. Karen Allen is given very little screen time, and only appears in the final scene. However, when they did the "tell me where it doesn't hurt thing" I got emotional. Yeah, I liked that.
* I have read people saying that Skull was a better ending for Indy, with a son and getting married with Marion. Here he ends up with Marion, but his son is dead. While technically it's true that Skull's ending was happier for Indy, I liked this more as a way to say goodbye to the character, because this movie leaves me with much better sensations. And, regarding Mutt, well, loss is also a part of life.
* I have also read Indy should have stayed in the past. I don't agree. He should have stayed if the alternative was to be alone and miserable, but he belongs with Marion. They deserve to be happy together in their final years.
All in all, a really solid effort. I have some nitpicks, but on the whole I was really happy. It can't be easy, making an action movie with an 80-year-old lead, with a character who is mostly about thrilling action set pieces... They did quite well. It's a shame that this movie is not doing well at the box office while Skull, a weaker movie, did. But, anyway, life is not always fair, and for us fans I think we have been treated to a good final Indy story.
I wouldn't personally mind if the role was recast after Harrison Ford dies and we got more movies with a young Indy, but if that happens that will be many years in the future. For the moment, this goodbye leaves me with a smile, unlike Crystal Skull.
Some thoughts:
* I loved the initial set piece. I watched it with a grin on my face, like I watched the first three movies. The rejuvenation effects were good. Maybe he did not look exactly the same as Harrison Ford looked in the 80s movies (I don't know, a bit more clean-cut, perhaps?) but it was good enough to completely avoid that uncanny valley effect when it looks almost right but not quite. It was a thrilling extended sequence, and I wouldn't have minded a whole movie like that.
* After that, the pace of the movie is different from the other movies. There is a lot of action, of course, but the pace is not as relentless. I did not get bored (even though the movie is long at 2 hours and a half!), but it was not quite as thrilling as the 80s movies. Which is natural, I think, because Ford is 80, and I think such a relentless pace would not have worked, unless it was all with rejuvenation like in the beginning.
* Mads Mikkelsen was really good as the villain.
* There's controversy about Phoebe Waller-Bridge's character, but I liked her work. Helena Shaw was not very likable for a lot of the movie, but that's because of how the character is designed, not because of the actress' work. Yes, Indy in the beginning of his career was after fortune and glory, but he was never as cynical and ruthless as Helena Shaw is for most of the movie. I would have liked a few more character moments with her to explain how she went from trapping Indy with the nazis so that she could escape in the beginning of the movie, to doing crazy action stunts to save him in the last part.
* I liked Harrison Ford here, more than I did in Crystal Skull. I thought he looked too old in Skull. Here, for obvious reasons, he looks older, but I thought the movie adjusted well to that fact, instead of pretending that it was the same as in the 80s. At the same time, I thought his action scenes were convincing, and his punches still looked serious.
* PWD was the co-lead in this movie, more so than any of the characters accompanying Indy in any of the other movies. However, I personally did not feel that it was at the expense of Indy's role. I thought it made sense that he would have another character to take some of the weight of the action, because 80-year-old Ford doing the huge amount of physical scenes that he did in the older movies might have been too much.
* More importantly, I did not feel that this movie took away from Indy's status as a hero. I am one of those who are pissed off at Disney for their handling of Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, so I was wary of the reports about PWD's protagonism. But no, Indy is still a hero and is still kicking ass as much as it's possible for a character played by an 80-year-old actor.
* The kid (Teddy) was cold. He was even more money-focused than Helena, and he killed that nazi guy during the underwater scene without being traumatized. I don't get why they established that he couldn't swim when he was on the ship, only to have him do that underwater stunt later. I liked how he cared about Helena, though.
* Thankfully, no awful CGI scenes like Mutt swinging from tree to tree.
* The time travel... Yeah, it worked for me. Quite thrilling, the whole thing in the past. I was quite wary of this concept, because in Skull, the whole mental powers/aliens/extradimensional beings thing did not quite work for me. I felt it was too much. But this was a more solid story than Skull, and I thought it was enjoyable and fit better within Indy's world.
* John Rhys-Davies had nice cameos. Karen Allen is given very little screen time, and only appears in the final scene. However, when they did the "tell me where it doesn't hurt thing" I got emotional. Yeah, I liked that.
* I have read people saying that Skull was a better ending for Indy, with a son and getting married with Marion. Here he ends up with Marion, but his son is dead. While technically it's true that Skull's ending was happier for Indy, I liked this more as a way to say goodbye to the character, because this movie leaves me with much better sensations. And, regarding Mutt, well, loss is also a part of life.
* I have also read Indy should have stayed in the past. I don't agree. He should have stayed if the alternative was to be alone and miserable, but he belongs with Marion. They deserve to be happy together in their final years.
All in all, a really solid effort. I have some nitpicks, but on the whole I was really happy. It can't be easy, making an action movie with an 80-year-old lead, with a character who is mostly about thrilling action set pieces... They did quite well. It's a shame that this movie is not doing well at the box office while Skull, a weaker movie, did. But, anyway, life is not always fair, and for us fans I think we have been treated to a good final Indy story.
I wouldn't personally mind if the role was recast after Harrison Ford dies and we got more movies with a young Indy, but if that happens that will be many years in the future. For the moment, this goodbye leaves me with a smile, unlike Crystal Skull.