New Indiana Jones

Rating: 9/10 (11 June 2005)

When I first saw the DVD case, my immediate thought was Nick Cage as Indy? Weird. However, being today, I saw no other interesting movies so I took this one. I was very pleasantly surprised. I'm a huge fan of Indiana Jones which is what originally attracted me to this movie.
Cage does an outstanding job as the genius historian treasure hunter. It lacks the full on action and mysticism of Indiana Jones, but is a lot more realistic (apart from the Declaration of Independence)
Justin Bartha is wonderful as Riley Poole, the funny, stereotypical somewhat stupid sidekick, who is nevertheless so adorable and hilarious that you love him despite the fact that he is not original.
Diane Kruger does a wonderful job as Abigail Chase, as we finally see an intelligent Indiana Jones girl. However, she and Justin Bartha have quite small parts next to Cage's character, which is a pity since both characters could have been developed more.
A good introduction to Indiana Jones, and an excellent stand-alone movie. As for the historical facts, if you don't look them up, you won't be disappointed. As they say, "Ignorance is bliss"