Shia LaBeouf's pans Indy 4, Transformers 2 (old news but still relevant)

Back in May of this year, Shia LaBeouf made a comment at the Cannes Film Festival that he and Spielberg "dropped the ball" on the Indiana Jones legacy with 2008's "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." LaBeouf further stated that Harrison Ford also agreed that the film was not working when they were shooting it (there has been no real comment from Ford on that remark). Shia knew that swinging around with monkeys on vines was not going to work and couldn't work but, dammit, he tried to make it work. Now, several months to almost a year earlier, Shia mentioned that the general dislike of Crystal Skull from fans was silly considering they were questioning the implausibility of certain scenes, as in the flying fridge (the "Nuke the Fridge" controversy, a term I loathe). I agree with the latter though Indy surviving a nuclear explosion might seem like pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable in the Indy universe...but hanging on to a periscope of a submarine without being seen by the Nazis seems over-the-top. But, hey, this is Indiana Jones, not the real-life adventures of an archaeologist who carries a bullwhip and a gun when excavating for copper!

This news is even more relevant because Shia has supposedly gotten a sneak peek at the new, "crazy" ideas that Lucas and company have come up with for an Indy 5. Truth or not, it may be also true that Shia has snagged his Mutt Jones role back, or not. We won't know for sure yet. Has he had a talk with Spielberg over his pan of Indiana Jones 4 and "Transformers 2," the latter co-executive produced by Spielberg? I would've expressed more disappointment over the pointless "Disturbia," but that is just me.

My final thought is that Shia made these comments because he is trying to make the transition from wind-up action toy to adult actor, hence the upcoming "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" (which he promoted at Cannes). Maybe he wants to be taken seriously and that is fine, but some comments are better left mute in the interests of your employer. That is unless of course Spielberg also feels he dropped the ball on Indiana Jones. He shouldn't - "Crystal Skull" is a fine addition to the franchise but my opinion is the minority (and will be expressed in a detailed analysis of the virtues of Crystal Skull at a later date).