Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Sunday, May 18th, 2008
George Lucas has had an idea for a fourth Indiana Jones movie for more than a decade now, but Spielberg and Ford wanted nothing to do with it. Eventually he wore them down and the result is Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It’s easy to see why Spielberg and Ford were hesitant to make it.
Indiana’s survival is now the stuff of utter fantasy. Sure the tight spots he made it out of in previous movies stretched the bounds of believability, but now those bounds have been broken, snapped, and tossed straight out the window. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull does that in the first fifteen minutes, when Indy survives something so ludicrous that it’s right out of a bad, 1950s, sci-fi serial; which of course is what Lucas and Spielberg are using as inspiration.
He may be more grumpy and he may not be much of a dresser, but the glimmer hasn’t entirely gone out of Harrison’s eyes. We’re reacquainted with Indy in the midst of intrigue involving Russians. It’s the 50s, the Nazis have been defeated, and that means Indy must now fight communism. The Reds are led by an army officer named Irina Spalko, played by Cate Blanchett.
From the outset she’s no match for Indiana Jones, and Cate’s take on the character seems to involve a lot of gaping and staring. Spalko is after an American secret and she drags Indy out to a certain spot in the Nevada desert, where our adventure begins, offset by comedic gophers which seem to have wandered over from the set of Caddyshack. From Nevada it’s off to South America, where the gophers are replaced by monkeys, and jungle clue chasing with Indiana and his friends can begin in earnest.
But you’re here for adventure and there’s plenty of that. The movie soars in several character driven action sequences, and sags in others. Indiana has another one of those genius “shoot the sword guy†moments which alone makes Kingdom of the Crystal Skull worth the price of admission. Most of the effects are good, and it’s all well staged. Unfortunately, sometimes perhaps a little too well staged. This Indiana Jones feels less organic than any of the other movies. It feels more choreographed. Of course it’s all choreographed, but some of the action sequences in this one seem more like dance numbers than truly dangerous, rock-em-sock em Indiana Jones action.
Even though old age should mean he’s more fragile, I never truly felt like Indiana was in trouble, and I’m not sure he ever did either. Maybe it’s because some of it goes so far over the top that it crosses that believability line I mentioned earlier. Or, and I hate to keep harping on this, maybe it’s Harrison’s age. There’s no way a guy this grey could pull any of this off, and so when he does, it’s harder than ever to buy into any of it.
The idea of a fourth Indiana Jones movie is better than the reality, and a few years from now I guarantee fans will find themselves more likely to re-watch Temple of Doom than to revisit this entertaining, yet past its prime Indy entry.
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