The U.S. premiere of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is still 3 days away, but an audience at Cannes got its first glimpse yesterday.  Here’s a sampling of the reviews being posted by critics today:

• Associated Press:  “Except for the opening — which literally starts the film off with a bang — and a couple of dazzling chase sequences, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is about as unfocused and meandering as the title itself.”


• Entertainment Weekly:  “There’s joy and a middle-aged playfulness to the best of Steven Spielberg’s unlikely sequel. And I mean that as a full compliment: All the movieman’s themes are here, his interests, obsessions, trademark strengths as a cinematic storyteller, and Spielbergian ‘tells,’ too, with hubcap and sideview mirror reflections dating back over 35 years to Duel.”


• Hollywood Reporter:  “Whatever story there is, a murky journey to return a spectacular archeological find to its rightful home—an unusual goal of the old grave-robber—gets swamped in a sea of stunts and CGI that are relentless as the scenes and character relationships are charmless.”


• Los Angeles Times:  “After all, given its Saturday matinee genre nature and the fact that star Ford, creator Lucas, director Spielberg, composer John Williams and editor Michael Kahn, among others, have all returned, it was inevitable that this film was going to fall within a very narrow range in terms of quality. It was either going to be a worse- or better-than-average Indiana Jones film. It turns out it’s one of the better ones and everyone involved can breathe a sigh of relief.”


• People Magazine:  ‘While the flick is easy to like, it never quite knocks you silly with delight the way 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark did.”


• Roger Ebert:  “I can say that if you liked the other Indiana Jones movies, you will like this one, and that if you did not, there is no talking to you.”


• USA Today:  “But while it’s an intentionally far-fetched saga, there are especially implausible moments — even for Indiana Jones. Characters suddenly stand still, for instance, so special effects can happen around them. But even with the ponderous dialogue, it’s hard not to have fun on this adventure, and it’s good to see that Indy, though slightly weary, still has the goods.”


• Variety:  “For all the verbiage expended just to keep the story cranking forward, David Koepp’s script accomplishes the two essentials: It keeps the structure on the straight and narrow, and is true to the character of Indiana Jones himself. Thanks to this and Ford’s full-bodied performance, Indy comes through just as viewers remember him: crafty, capable, impatient, manly and red-blooded American.”