Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

Finally got around to seeing this. It was the first viewing, so I don't have all that much to say (upon further viewings I'll be taking notes rather than sitting enrapt in the theatre) but a few preliminary thoughts follow.

Much as in Die Hard, they really don't avoid Harrison Ford's age in this one - he's in good shape, obviously, and apparently did all his own stunts (which is an important part of the marketing/promotional rhetoric) but the years definitely show - but it's not the years, as the man says, it's the mileage.

Bringing back Marion does a lot to link the film to the franchise, as does the the presence of Mutt Williams, Indy's previously unknown son. There's a sort of passing of the whip that takes place through the film, galvanizing the mythology with a sense of potential longevity (whether or not further films are made). In spite of the shift from Judeo-Christian religious artifact to alien/transdimensional artifact, the adventure plays out in much the same way as previous films, with Communists replacing Nazis, a different old man replacing Henry Jones Sr., and so on. The formula is preserved, as is the madcap, almost slapstick style of action I've alluded to in previous posts. Ants and scorpions serve the mandatory gross-animal function.

I'll have to ponder this more, but it seems that this film is constructed differently from Live Free or Die Hard... I'm not sure quite how, yet. Perhaps there is a greater emphasis on Indiana Jones' adaptability, as opposed to John McClane's stubborn (and ultimately correct) refusal to change. The ending of the film in particular, in which Indy marries Marion at long last, leads me to wonder if it is this is the case.

EDIT: A friend just pointed out to me one significat change - confronted with alien artifacts, Indiana Jones for the first time is not completely familiar with what he's dealing with. He knows all about the Ark, Shankara Stones and the Grail, but the crystal skulls are genuinely baffling to him. Something to consider, anyhow.