Films of Steven Spielberg

The King of B-movies and Spielberg's greatest achievement. It's no surprise that this was brought together by both Spielberg and George Lucas, two of the greatest director/writers ever. It doesn't hurt that Harrison Ford is perfect as Indiana Jones either.

One of Spielberg's most underrated films, other than Empire of the Sun. At first you see the shiny coat that Minority Report wears, with it's pretty face actor Tom Cruise, or the flashy animations and stunts. But under all that, you have a super tense thriller that makes you think and wonder about the believable future Spielberg and Dick brought to life. And Cruise is very held back and very good here. Doesn't happen very often, so take it as it is. Minority Report is a masterpiece not only among science fiction movies, but among movies in general.

"Sallah, I said NO camels! That's FIVE camels; can't you count?"

I couldn't agree more about the sugar-coated ending, however, it is not reason enough to hate the film. The previous two hours are too well put together and captivating that calling this movie a "disaster" is like saying "Jaws is SUCH a horrible movie, you barely even SEE the shark!!!" So yeah. Maybe just stop the movie when the boy's stuck underwater. That might help.

Well it's finally here. And of course the big aching question for all: was it worth the wait? In short, yes. But it should be noted here that hype can kill any movie. Yes, a movie should be as great as possible but people have unreasonable expectations for it. Obviously, The Dark Knight lived up to it, but in a year so full of great movies, they seem like disappointments with all the ridiculous hype. But enough ranting. That said, this was still very entertaining.

Probably at this moment, it's my 3rd favorite of the 4, but that might change upon repeat viewings. The main thing the movie doesn't do wrong is emphasize on Jones being old. If Spielberg had done that, the movie would have gotten old fast (no pun intended) and the audience's interest lost. Thankfully Spielberg crafts Ford's character as badass as he ever was. CGI also worried many people, creating the impression that the original feel of the first 3 movies would be lost. But one's got to remember that back in the 80's, those movies were also constantly finding ways to outdo themselves with impressive visuals. It's just now, the industry has CGI. But even still, the CGI isn't overdone with only maybe 3 scenes total that are heavily CGI centered. For the most part, CGI never gets in the way of the film.

The acting by everyone was pretty exceptional. Harrison Ford still had the best performance of the movie, but Cate Blanchett followed close behind. Her performance might have bordered on stereotypical of "the Reds" at times, but she was still phenomenal, as cold and haunting as ever. John Hurt performed well too, but nothing too extraordinary. And Karen was Karen. Which leaves us with Shia LeBouef. What's there to say about him? Has he ever truly played a deep and emotional character up to now? He's been in I, Robot, Disturbia, and Transformers, to name a few. He's not exactly the deepest of character actors, as of now. Then again, the role he's in doesn't need a truly extraordinary actor. He does do a fairly great job in the movie though, as the comic relief known as "Mutt" Williams. For most of the movie, he's a typical grease-ball of the 50's, combing his hair back constantly. And that really does get annoying the 100th time he does it. But later on in the movie, he gets the chance to stretch his acting muscles a bit especially with emotional scenes involving his stepfather and such. (SPOILER) It's a little cliche to see Mutt be the son of Jones and doesn't really come as a surprise to the audience when the reveal comes, but does give the chance to have a strong bond form between LeBouef and Ford. (END SPOILER) Overall, everyone performed well, but besides Ford, everyone had room to improve to reach greatness.

With the CGI, action scenes became more explosive and intense. The major car chase scene, while over dramatic, was still awesome. Also the scene with the ants has got to be one of the most chilling scenes in all of the 4 movies. That could have not been done easily, if at all, back in the 80's. The part in the beginning where all the crates explode after the car drives through them made no sense, and the whole magnetism thing was a complete stretch.

One of the most important aspects of the movie is the story, and overall it's kind of a mixed bag. On one hand, it maintains the historical-ness of the first and third movie, not pulling any of that Temple of Doom cult stuff, which is a good thing...until the Crystal Skull is found. (SPOILER) The whole alien aspect of the story just seems silly. I understand how it ties into Indy's whole "not believing in supernatural crap", but still, Lucas and Spielberg should have left their love of extra-terrestrials out of the Indy franchise. Everything about the flying saucer and the aliens "being one" was out of place and just an excuse to actually think of some historical artifact to chase after. Or something along those lines. The story still didn't get too destroyed by all the aliens, so overall it was still fun and exciting.

Raiders of the Lost Ark, Temple of Doom, and the Last Crusade all are amazing films. And so is the latest Indiana Jones movie. It combines all of the exciting elements of the previous films, providing a fun and exciting follow up to the first three films. Anyone who is a fan of the Indiana Jones movies or of action/adventure movies to begin with, should go see this, as its full of charm and character. Here's hoping that Indy 5 will be equally as great, if not better, than Crystal Skull. And yes, there will be another; its basically spelled out all over the movie.

When your sequel stars Julianne Moore, you know your in trouble.