Blu-ray Movie Reviews

"Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull" finds Indy trying to outrace a brilliant and beautiful agent for the mystical, all-powerful Crystal Skull of Akator. Teaming up with a rebellious young biker and his spirited original love Marion, Indy takes you on a breathtaking action-packed adventure in the exciting tradition of the classic "Indiana Jones" movies.

I think everyone was excited to see Lucas and Spielberg bring our favorite archeologist back to the big screen this summer. Expectations were high after his nearly 18-year hiatus but judging from the box office numbers, the return was a success. Personally, I thought this was a decent addition to the series but a bit short of the polish and fun of the original three, especially in comparison to the first film. The action sequences this time around lacked the intensity of the original and the storyline just didn’t have the intrigue and craft of the originals. That isn’t to say this wasn’t fun, it just didn’t hold me nearly as well as its predecessors.

Paramount delivers a great HD presentation that falls just short of reference quality. The encode is sourced from a digital intermediate (something rare for Spielberg) and retains outstanding detail and definition. Some of the special effects have a dated look, but that was intentional to keep the film in line with the previous three. Contrast levels are excellent with good blacks and shadow detail but whites can appear slightly overblown at times. Early in the film you can see reflections in the image from the camera work resulting in a “double image” at times, but this was only noticed on a few occasions. Fine object details are exceptional and overall I can only hope the originals look this good when they eventually hit the format.

This is the first Blu-ray to receive THX certification and the disc even features a new THX intro that is thunderous in dynamics and soundstage. Unfortunately, the same can’t be quite said for the main soundtrack. I was disappointed in the sense of spatial design and felt that the mix was a bit too front heavy through most of the film. The bottom end wasn’t nearly as compelling as I remembered from the D-Cinema showing either. Voice work revealed a slightly staticy noise floor at times, which is rare in the age of modern soundtracks. The film’s score does a great job of opening the mix up and as the film progresses things do improve in the spatial design, but considering the players involved I wasn’t as impressed with this aspect of the presentation as I thought I would be.

Paramount definitely did not skimp on the extras for this one. The two-disc set does a great job of delivering compelling production features and a nice mix of interactivity. The main disc provides a BD-Java enabled timeline that looks at real world events and their place in the timeline of the film. Trailers and a production feature are also included, all in HD. The second disc takes an extensive look at the film’s production including casting, stunt work, special effects and bringing it all together. Interviews, on-set footage and a look at the practical effects are all included. A full photo gallery for on set and the art design is also included.

While this next chapter in the Indiana series may not be quite the package that we saw over twenty years ago, it is still a fun addition to the series. Paramount has done a great job with the presentation that falls just short of the reference mark. This is a no brainer for fans of the series and adventure movies alike. Definitely recommended.