so..........

...did it hit the mark, you may ask? did it live up to my expectations?

in some ways, it did...the sewing up of loose ends, the cracking action-packed sequences (of which the jungle scene stands head and shoulders above), the weaving of "reality" and "fiction" plot trails and the larger-than-life character of henry walton jones, otherwise known as indiana (WOOF!!!)...

but crucially, in other ways, it peters out and makes me think that...yes, it may be time to bid a fond farewell to the franchise that began 27 years ago...the plotline staggers its way thru without a whole lot of cohesion, the macguffin of the crystal skull is fairly lame and the pacing was kinda flat throughout, even when building towards the finale...

i think it is fair to give it a considered 6.5/10...it never does get close to the highwater mark (for me) of both raiders and crusade...i think i probably have been guilty of gazing through rose-tinted glasses and looking back on things past, when the run-up to the release of the crystal skull was in progress...

i mean, c'mon...it's INDY!!! we all wanted and yearned for lucas and spielberg to make use of current technology and hit new highs with this movie, seeing as how it probably will be the last one, with the protagonist is played by a 65 year old man...to have it go out for its final swansong hitting all the high notes perfectly...

regretfully this is not the case...it still is a pretty good joyride though, but it ultimately fizzles out somewhat...

goodbye junior...you will be missed...