Don’t get me wrong – I actually did enjoy this. But why am I seeing a trend where insanely high budget movies think that they will automatically be good without putting in more effort into the writing?

I was very much looking forward to this. With director James Mangold attached, I felt like he was fitting director to bring this franchise to an end considering how well he did with Logan. Overall, he did a fantastic job in this role. He had a big role to play to bring this franchise home and I believe he achieved well. For one, he had to direct a movie of the same tone as this franchise, yet also direct Harrison Ford in a role that is quite a bit different than the previous entries. We find Indy in a much different place than what we are used to – tired, angry – all of the negative aspects one could think of and it feels justified. He is getting close to the end of his life and he feels like he has nothing more to live for. From his career to his personal life, he is essentially forced back into the iconic role and by the end, he finds purpose through this new journey. A journey unlike anything else.

Aside from Mangold’s direction and Ford’s performance, the CGI in the beginning was quite strong and felt relevant to the story they were trying to tell. Overall, I think this will age really well with viewers and get something for fans to be excited for, despite the flaws that will be mentioned later. I also want to highlight the action. The action here is amongst the best in the franchise. There will many moments where I caught myself holding my breath. That within itself is a high bar and something that is worth for the price of admission alone.

As for negatives, it is crazy to me to think that a $250 million budget movie like saw the light of day with its writing. This is just overlong for what it is and comes down to the writing. Plenty could have been removed from the Short Round 2.0 character to the emphasis on Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s character to the unnecessary characters like the ones Antonio Banderas and Boyd Holbrook.

The writing for most of the side characters is certainly the weaking point. Nothing against any of the characters. It’s how they are written and utilized is what makes the movie longer than necessary and comes off quite annoying as it really has nothing to do with anything. The writing for the new sidekick who I saw as the new Short Round 2.0 was unoriginal, tedious, and only made me wish that they found a way to bring Ke Huy Quan. Waller-Bridge, who is a talented writer and actress, doesn’t feel right here. It is clear that Disney desperately wanted this to act as an origin story as well for her potential movie. I can see why as she is charming in the role, but she is consistently changing her mind throughout the movie that it made me care for her end goal and what her purpose was. Lastly, the side characters that are introduced, such as Banderas’ and Holbrook’s, are a waste. I can only imagine what eliminating these roles could have done for the budget. Bandera’s character is barely utilized, while Holbrook’s character is just there. My guess is that he had such a good experience with Mangold in Logan that Mangold just threw him into the same kind of role without any more thought. I do have to mention that Mads Mikkelsen was great though and stood out as one of the franchise’s better villains.

Overall, I do think this is pretty good. It is grounded and realistic enough to be put a little bit over Kingdom of Crystal Skull. Indiana Jones is in a different place in life, which I believe is the biggest determent of whether or not one will enjoy it. If you can appreciate the realism of his character and this last journey he is on, then I think this will do enough to win viewers over despite its flaws. Regardless of the flaws, I feel satisfied with this being the conclusion.

VERDICT: 3.5/5 (Pretty Good)