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Critics Generally Pleased with New Indiana Jones

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THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK Ford
Summer blockbuster kings Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have a lot riding on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, their fourth installment in the series about the beloved bullwhip-cracking archaeologist: With a budget of $185 million and another $150 for marketing, the flick has to gross more than $500 million worldwide to avoid being a disappointment.

The movie's built-in fanbase all but guarantees that, though appeasing said fans is a different beast altogether. And early Internet speculation surrounding the flick was not exactly stellar. Last Thursday, a poster at aintitcoolnews.com proclaimed, "This is the Indiana movie that you were dreading ... [Ford] has a few lines that work and a million that don't." But fret not, Dr. Jones fans! Official reviews are now mostly in, and they're generally favorable:

"There are scenes in the new movie that seem like stretching exercises at a retirement home ... But once it gets going, Crystal Skull delivers smart, robust, familiar entertainment."—Time.

"Delivers the goods—not those of the first-rate original, 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark, but those of its uneven two successors."—Variety

"There's an organic smoothness to the mayhem that can take your breath away, so much so that the less inspired aspects of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull stick out more clearly."—Boston Globe

"But even with the ponderous dialogue, it's hard not to have fun on this adventure, and it's good to see that Indy, though slightly weary, still has the goods."—USA Today

"I can say that if you liked the other Indiana Jones movies, you will like this one, and that if you did not, there is no talking to you."—Roger Ebert

Though then there are the buzz-killing poohbas at the Hollywood Reporter: "The actors are asked to do little more than look reasonably alert. This proves to be Indiana Jones' greatest challenge."

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