The Indy Crew Hit Cannes

Amid bizarre internet happenings, stories about so-called bad buzz, stories about it being imaginary, or the movie being the next Da Vinci Code – on thing’s for certain: folks are jumpy. And that is all. The movie is still going to break the bank, no doubt, as all bases appear to be covered: target demo (lots of things crash and blow up, Disneyland ride tie-in, check), aging gen-xers like myself, check (Karen Allen, ’nuff said), young girls – Shia and Cate, check. Old men (same as target demo), check. The only demo I’m not seeing representin’ here are minority folks. A Latino sidekick or a major African American star? Perhaps I’m being naive, or perhaps I grew up in a time when we all lined up around the block to see the latest Indy movie, but I’m going to guess that people will come no matter what the buzz.

Mark Savage at the BBC writes:

Visceral quality

All the classic ingredients are thrown into the mix – murky temples with devilish contraptions, ancient pictographs scrawled on walls, and horrible creepy-crawlies scurrying over the imperilled heroine.

Director Steven Spielberg has largely jettisoned computer generated effects (much to the chagrin of tech freak Lucas) with the result that the film’s action sequences have a visceral, physical quality you rarely find in modern-day blockbusters.

An extended sequence with Shia LaBoeuf and Cate Blanchett careering through the rainforest, swordfighting astride two army vehicles is a pure adrenalin rush.

As ever, Spielberg brings both humour and visual flair to sequences where other films are happy to provide mere spectacle.