Indiana Jones Review: C
Taking your own advice can sometimes be one of the most difficult things a person can do. This reviewer fell victim to that at 12:01 on Thursday during the midnight screening ofIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. For those that had a chance to read the preview of the film, you know I felt that backlash was imminent due to the changes in how we experience films in this era versus the era of the original Indiana Jones. While I still stand by my points in that preview, unfortunately the open mind of another era is not enough to gloss over the flaws of Indy’s latest adventure.
We catch up with Indy some twenty years after The Last Crusade as he is in the captivity of a group of Russians bent on world domination. The Russians want Indy to find a specific crate for them in an Area 51 warehouse that we know well from the conclusion of Raiders of the Lost Ark. After aiding the Russians while under duress, Dr. Jones dramatically flees the area in what can be considered an entertaining opening sequence, though it still lacked the excitement of the original films. This sets up the plot: the Russians were searching for remains in the warehouse that might include one of the fabled Crystal Skulls. Indy must obtain the Crystal Skull before the Russians to keep them from gaining control of the powers that lay within.
The premise is plausible and allows for the first half of the film to be enjoyable and have enough mystery surrounding it to hold the audience’s attention. Holding the audience’s attention is about as far as Crystal Skull gets, as the sense of peril and exhilaration that was the norm during the previous films is noticeably absent. Whether it was the CGI that clearly stood out during action sequences or the predictability of a LucasBerg film, at no point did I grip the armrests during what were meant to be tension filled scenarios. That being said, the motorcycle chase in the early part of the film was well done and helped carry the first half of the movie.
The other major issue for the film was that it became less and less grounded as the narrative progressed. Without getting into too many details, the plot goes from an interesting idea built on actual historical artifacts to the realm of science fiction and CGI, which becomes harder for viewers to buy into than the Thuggee Cult’s return or the cup of Christ giving everlasting life.
As for the cast, the acting was neither poor nor was it memorable. Harrison Ford at times shows flashes of what the character once was, but does not feel right for the majority of the film. Cate Blanchett plays the Russian nemesis without problem, but the character’s motivation gets only a few brief lines. Karen Allen’s return as Marion Ravenwood seemed like a great choice for the film but was left underdeveloped, while Shia LaBeouf’s performance as Mutt Williams was charismatic and humorous.
The fourth film of the Indiana Jones franchise does not tarnish the series, as some would say Episode I: The Phantom Menace of Star Wars might have. However, rather than giving us further development of one of our great film heroes, Crystal Skull offers nostalgia without excitement. The whip and the fedora were there but beneath them we don’t find the character we once loved, but rather an homage to another period of filmmaking.
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