Review of INDIANA JONES: CRYSTAL SKULL

INDIANA JONES: CRYSTAL SKULL - STORY: Indiana answers a call for help in rescuing a friend and an artifact in Mayan territory, but then discovers there is more that is near and dear to him at stake.
INDIANA JONES: CRYSTAL SKULL - MESSAGE: Being educated in practical things, being resourceful wherever one is, thinking on one's feet, being courageous, being willing to try new things, ability to defend oneself against enemies, being able to understand enigmatic communication, a high IQ, being decisive and resolute separating friend from foe, feigning coorporation while looking for a means of escape, following your passion, seeking to know more beyond the knowledge you are fed, and belief in powers beyond our own can result in successfully getting out of pickles, a little wiser than one was before. Love is eternal and family is important. Wishing to use the power of higher forces for evil will destroy a person. Greed and betraying friends will lose.
INDIANA JONES: CRYSTAL SKULL - WIN: The resourcefulness and intelligence and other positive traits in the main character are consistent with the actions of able people. So is completing his challenging tasks. He also has a healthy respect for seeing what exists without doubt or prejudice or "it can't be." His opponent, a Russian woman, correctly portrayed the common evil of disrespecting spiritual ability in her wish to use it as a weapon against those who opposed her country and communism.
INDIANA JONES: CRYSTAL SKULL - LOSE: The movie used petty theft and disobedience to portray the youth as self-determined, and made them seem like desireable and positive traits. What mitigated this message was that Indiana countered his theft, countered his attempt to gain alcohol, countered his hot-headedness and countered his rejection of education. But, there still is the idea that it takes a bit of wildness to be a hero. There is some truth to this, but the positive kind of "wildness" (meaning going against the status quo, mores or authority) is in the direction of defense of what one loves and what is right. If wildness is selfish or self-destructive or needlessly destructive of others, then it is only irrational behavior, not heroism. Fortunately, the youth, thereafter, did behave bravely and heroically and brought all his talents and education to help himself and the group. There is slight promotion of irresponsible promiscuity, but the character eventually takes responsibilty for this. What needs to be realized is that the audience is asked to "be" the hero during the movie, with all his behavior and traits. If a hero does vast good, he could be someone we want to emulate, and, if we don't differentiate, we might adopt his negative as well as positive traits. (In order to be James Bond, for example, we might think we need to not only be daring, but alcoholic and promiscuous. Fortunately, people do know right from wrong and aren't completely influenced by the movies.) The skull and its power seemed destructive, which would be inconsistent with able people, although they had a clever way of getting assistance in getting themselves home.
INDIANA JONES: CRYSTAL SKULL - EFFECT ON ME: It made me want to act more decisive, intelligent and resourcefully to do the right thing. It gave me respect for good movie writing and made me want to return to my niche, writing short stories, rather than writing movies. It made me feel clever, because there was certain humor that you would not get unless you compared the first movie with this sequel, and I did, so I patted myself on the back. In other words, the movie knew I was a fan and played to that, so I felt glad to be a fan, and happy to be thusly entertained.
Sincerely,
Becky Mate
Script Consultant