JUST hours before Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of The Crysal Skull received its world premiere at Cannes, a select group of journalists got to see the film at a press screening on Sunday, May 18 [2008]. And the verdict was…. mostly positive.

Indeed, if early indications are anything to go by, the film looks set to receive a more enthusiastic response from UK critics than Americans. Both the BBC and Empire gave it a thumbs up, while The Hollywood Reporter found it disappointing.

But ever the optimists, we’ve opted to bring you the positive comments first!

Hence, Empire declared in its unofficial review that “Indiana Jones & The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull has done nothing to dilute the integrity of Spielberg and Lucas’s classic hero”.

It continued: “Indeed, although Indy’s showing some creaking bones and doesn’t crack a whip quite as elegantly as he used to, this is a slick, fun film that has by no means sacrificed the fast action beats of the first three.”

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The BBC’s Cannes reporter, Mark Savage, wrote: “It came as a surprise to many people in Cannes that the film was so entertaining. Swashes were buckled, rips were roared and sticks were slapped.”

Mr Savage concluded: “This is no Phantom Menace or Godfather III. The quality control has been maintained, despite the 19-year wait.”

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And still keeping things relatively positive, Total Film‘s Cannes representative Jonathan Dean wrote: “Neither the disaster doom-mongers predicted nor the triumph Spielberg worshippers may claim. New nasties the Russians don’t convey the universal fear of the Nazis and the plotting is so-so, but Shia sails through the Spielbergian thrills and spills and Ford can still crack the whip. Three stars.”

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So, that leaves The Hollywood Reporter, which declared it to be a disappointment. Boo!

Their Cannes blogger Steven Zeitchik wrote: “Boldness points for Spielberg et al for using aliens as a villain – bet you never thought you’d see a flying saucer in an Indiana Jones movie – but on the whole the script is flat, the motives are murky and, outside of one mountaintop car chase involving swords, monkeys and some coolly vertiginous angles, most of the action scenes are noisy and uninspired, and likely to yield more than a few pejorative comparisons to a video game.”

He also pointed out: “It could shape up as the story of the summer: a new franchise from a character few had heard of (Iron Man), is snappy, original and complex. A revived franchise the entire planet knows about feels tired and mechanical.”

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We’re keeping our fingers crossed, however, that Indy has recaptured that old magic. The omens certainly appear to be good.

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