change in tone, same results...

Rating: Null/10 (15 February 2004)

I'm not a lover of the series like most anyway, but still gave this a chance. Writer Boam, who has penned superb stuff like The Lost Boys and Lethal Weapon 2 and 3, is brought on to shake up the tone of the films. Unfortunately it does no good. More of an attempt at humor and silly action don't come off. They also succumb to a "famous guest stars" syndrome, kicking things off with Phoenix and later adding Connery. At least Ford's death avoidance was somewhat believable before. Here, he and dad escape far too often, far too easily. Unmanned speedboats faking out killers, unmanned motorcycles *happening* to crash into bad guys, conveniently. Then there's the Three Stooges nonsense, such as Connery blasting apart the tail of he and Ford's plane, Connery charging at seagulls while pumping an umbrella, or the fighter plane that slides through a tunnel with a dumbstruck pilot staring at the two heroes. And like Temple of Doom, bad blue screen strikes again, with phoney planes crashing and pilot's flying unconvincingly into the camera. Plus the lack of a true heroine and another hecticly filmed ending, and I've been disappointed yet again. Very, very, seldomly Boam manages a poingnant moment between father and son, but much more was needed. Along with the succumbing to a typical final few minutes of a lamebrained laugh and a ride into the sunset. And something just doesn't seem right when one of the main characters has died and levity is attempted, creating a feeling of uneasyness. 80s nostalgia will bring me back for part 4, but I'll go into the theater hanging my head in advance.