Released: May 2008
Directed By: Steven Spielberg
Rated PG-13
Cast:
Harrison Ford: Indiana Jones
Cate Blanchett: Irina Spalko
Shia LaBeouf: Mutt Williams
Karen Allen: Marion Ravenwood
Ray Winstone: George Michale
John Hurt: Professor Oxley
Indiana Jones. Aside from Han Solo, Indy is Harrison Ford’s most iconic role ever. In 1981, we were first introduced to the globe-trotting archaeologist on a quest for the Ark of the Covenant. A box-office smash, Raiders of the Lost Ark went on to become one of the highest grossing films of that year. It was such a huge hit that Steven Spielberg and George Lucas made a sequel: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. While the film took a darker turn than most people were used to, it was still a fun ride and a very successful picture. In 1989, the third adventure featuring the titular hero, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, was released to world-wide success. Taking a much-more light-hearted approach to the character, The Last Crusade featured a phenomenal cast including Sean Connery. The resulting movie was better than Temple of Doom in every way. Many people expected The Last Crusade to be the last of the series and rightly so, given how it ended. It was a perfect ending. But people had been asking Harrison Ford, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas on whether or not Indy would be returning for another big-screen adventure. The rumors persisted for about 15 or so years. Then, I began to hear news that a fourth Indiana Jones film was indeed entering production. I was concerned whether or not Harrison Ford was physically up to the task given his age and the fact that the last Indy film was released nearly 20 years prior. As it turns out, he was.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull begins in 1957 as a convoy of Russians disguised as American soldiers infiltrate a top-secret military installation. It turns out they kidnapped Indiana Jones(Harrison Ford)and his friend Mac(Ray Winstone) and stuffed them into a trunk. The leader of the Russians, Irina Spalko(Cate Blanchett)seems to believe that Indy can help her find a particular box that houses mummified remains. Forced to cooperate, Indy helps them find the box. Betrayed by Mac, Indy manages to escape the installation. After being accused of being a Communist by FBI agents, Indy is forced to leave his university when he’s approached by a young man named Mutt(Shia LaBeouf) who says that Indy’s friend, Professor Oxley(John Hurt) has been kidnapped and being threatened. They head to South America to find out where Oxley has been when they discover a mysterious crystal-like skull. It should be mentioned that Steven Spielberg was reluctant to make an Indiana Jones movie with aliens, but he was convinced by George Lucas that they really weren’t space-men. When you consider when the movie takes place, it’s not entirely surprising that they decided to take the franchise in this direction for this film. The 50s was time loaded with bizarre sci-fi films and creature features. It was also a rough time in the States because of the Red Scare, so that plot point was thrown into the mix. Like the previous films, it’s a story that’s fairly easy to follow and is fairly entertaining.
Harrison Ford is still fantastic. In fact, he’s even more so as an older and more experienced character. He can still wear the fedora, leather jacket and whip like it’s nobody’s business. It’s such an iconic look, you can’t really expect anybody else to look like that. The supporting cast in this film is still fairly impressive. Despite what many people think of Shia LaBeouf, he doesn’t do too badly here as Mutt. John Hurt is great as the “not-quite-there” Professor Oxley. He’s clearly having a blast with the role. Ray Winston is also clearly having a good time as the two-timing dirtbag, Michale. I was surprised when it was announced that Karen Allen would be reprising her role of Marion. Her introduction in this movie is not quite as memorable as Raiders, but it’s still pretty funny. It’s even funnier when her relationship with Mutt is revealed to Indy. The only one here that kind of seems out of place is Cate Blanchett as Spalko. It’s not that she’s bad as Spalko, it’s that the character is thinly written and generic. There’s nothing particularly memorable or threatening about her. Same thing with the other Russians, aside from the big Russian dude that Indy gets to fight later on, they basically substituted the Nazis for the Russians. Given the time period, I could understand the Russians. But they’ve been done to death in the James Bond movies.
I’m not opposed to the idea of a sci-fi theme in Indiana Jones, seeing as how the supernatural has been for three films. I wish it could have been handled better. Let’s face it, the otherworldly beings in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, are described as “inter-dimensional beings.” If they aren’t of this world, they’re aliens. That’s kinda obvious. One of the things that truly made the previous films special was the use of practical effects. Most of it was done by hand, CG had barely been introduced, so Spielberg opted to do everything as practically as possible. For three films, that had been the case. With Crystal Skull, they opted to go ahead and use CG. Here’s the problem: There’s WAY too much of it, and a lot of it is very obvious. It’s hard to believe that the characters are in any sort of peril when the CG environments and objects are too distracting. I know a lot of people had been complaining about the “nuking the fridge” sequence towards the beginning of the movie, claiming it’s not realistic. It’s Indiana Jones, it’s not supposed to be. Having a couple of people jump out of a plane on an inflatable life-raft and survive is supposed to be realistic? I didn’t have an issue with that. Now, when people complain about Shia’s “monkey business” scene, I tend to agree: That was stupid.
What about the rest of the film? It’s not too shabby actually. It moves at a fairly brisk pace, it’s action-packed and it doesn’t take itself seriously. The opening scene where Indy escapes the Russians is pretty fun and Harrison Ford does most of his own stunts. The scene in which Indy gets Mutt to punch a stuck-up preppy in the face is pretty amusing as is the following chase sequence. The graveyard scene is appropriately spooky. The centerpiece of action in this film is the jungle chase sequence. While it borrows liberally from Raiders, it adds enough original elements to make a very entertaining event. For example, Mutt has a sword-fight with Spalko between two moving vehicles. I haven’t seen anything like that before, so it was pretty cool. It was also well-choreographed. Watching Indy engage in fisticuffs never gets old. There’s a sense of humor throughout the movie that had me laughing on more than one occasion, so the writing isn’t terrible. I know it sounds like I’m tearing down Indy 4, but the fact of the matter is, is that it’s not a bad movie at all. It really isn’t. I don’t think there is a bad movie at all in the series. Temple of Doom is the weakest narratively, but strong in every other department. Crystal Skull has a fairly strong narrative, but is considerably weaker in the visual effects department. It’s not a perfect movie, but it’s certainly not the disaster that people claim it to be. My final verdict is an 8.5/10. While the film has it’s issues, its strengths outweigh its weaknesses. Also, the title is just too damn long.