Indiana Jones Is My Favorite Sweatshirt

Just as a little aside, in an odd coincidence my essay, Baby Henry and the Curse of the White Butt Tag, is out in MotherVerse Vol. 8 this month. It's my own adventure - albeit of the parenting kind - and the title is (obviously) inspired by Indy. Originally Baby Henry was supposed to come out in January, but the publication went to a biannual schedule. Somehow I think there's a little bit of kismet at work.

Anyway, onto my thoughts of Indy.

I. Loved. It.

As a huge fan (nerd, so one of my best friends says - a nerd that has indeed read many of the Indy books), this is shocking, I know.

(Spoilers ahead? I'm trying not to give anything away, but it's possible)

Seriously, though - it was fabulous. I went in there hoping to be entertained and to be a bit nostalgic. I was both. There were a lot of moments where I was instantly brought back to the first couple of movies. It made me laugh out loud, gasp, and cover El Nino's eyes. My brother and I walked out of the theater and both went "whoa" and smiled.

Yeah, it was good.

It's fresh and new and exciting. It has action, humor and adventure. But there's enough of everything that I loved in the previous series to make it feel like rediscovering something long forgotten. It's like an old sweatshirt worn in college that was tucked away, one that you find and put on again after ten years and magically still fits just as perfectly as the last time you wore it.

Indy IV is a lot like that.

In the end, I left the movie theater thrilled and happy. It wasn't quite as good as Raiders or Crusade, but it was still fabulous. It was was exactly the kind of movie it needed to be - a perfect bookend to a great series. Whereas Crusade left me with a feeling like there should be more, The Crystal Skull left me content with the idea that this might be it. And I'm okay with that, because it wrapped things up well.

On the other hand, if the rumors are true (sort of spoiler ahead) and Shia Labeouf does indeed pick up the Indy franchise, I'm totally okay with that. I'd be more peeved if they pulled a James Bond and new actors played the same man for forty years (okay, peeved is probably putting it nicely). I like the idea of the mantle being passed on rather than reworked. And after seeing Labeouf in this, I have no doubt he could pull it off.

So yeah. Go see it. I already promised someone that I would see it again next weekend. I don't think I've ever seen a movie in theaters more than once. But you know what? I'm really looking forward to it.