Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull |
  • USA • 2008 • 122m •    • Directed by: Steven Spielberg. • Starring: Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, Shia LaBeouf, Ray Winstone, John Hurt, Jim Broadbent, Igor Jijikine, Dimitri Diatchenko, Ilia Volok, Emmanuel Todorov, Pasha D. Lychnikoff, Andrew Divoff. • Music by: John Williams.     During the Cold War, Soviet agents watch Professor Henry Jones when a young man brings him a coded message from an aged, demented colleague, Harold Oxley. Led by the brilliant Irina Spalko, the Soviets tail Jones and the young man, Mutt, to Peru. With Oxley's code, they find a legendary skull made of a single piece of quartz. If Jones can deliver the skull to its rightful place, all may be well; but if Irina takes it to its origin, she'll gain powers that could endanger the West. Aging professor and young buck join forces with a woman from Jones' past to face the dangers of the jungle, Russia, and the supernatural.
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Review:
And that's why it's so hard to admit that IJatKotCS is the Indy movie I feared. It would be an act of hardship to top the first films, but IJatKotCS manages to take Indy to the limit and shatter the concepts of what an Indiana Jones film is. As my title suggests, I blame Lucas, because he has apparently lost the ability to make stories that inspire greatness and instead now makes stories which inspire absurdity. Not that the premise of an adventurous professor who finds artifacts and then chases down Nazis isn't absurd already, but that is a lovable and expected absurdity, a staple of the Indy trademark. This new absurdity is more devious; why, George, did you have to add aliens? Star Wars is one thing, but Indiana Jones? Honestly, George, you have gone too far. The fact that Ford, Labeouf, and supporting cast make up for your misplaced writing with classic Indy flair only barely covers the fact that you have replaced much of what we loved about Indy with impossible stunts, improbable situations, and aliens! There is a breaking point and the finale of IJatKotCS was it. Yes, Lucas, writer, somehow managed to convince Spielberg and Ford to add elements to IJatKotCS that I thought were reserved for Star Wars or Close Encounters. I had heard that there were aliens in the first drafts of this new script, but George had "subdued" his original vision. Well, George, if you consider what you created for this finale subtle, then I can only imagine your original script.
I should mention that although the movie suffers from this addition, the movie is not terrible. Far from it. The acting is fantastic: Ford returns as Indy, and instantly proves he still has it. Labeouf proves a surprisingly welcome addition, and the supporting cast is well-played. The first hour of the movie is enjoyable, and Spielberg manages to capture the wonder of the first three films for a brief, sparkling moment. He also captures the era as well- it's not the 1930s anymore. And, of course, Williams' score is more than enough to bring nostalgia to the entire affair. But then, just as the movie begins to seem like a worthy addition, there is a stark and violent detachment from normal Indy parameters.
After the first hour the plot begins to fade into crazy stunts and extraterrestrial menaces. Ford and Labeouf hold it together as best they can, but when the script calls for a vine-swinging episode and a sword-fight on speeding DUKWs there is really little they can do. And we cannot forget the alien menace, which at first does seem subdued, until Lucas' true colors show and he begins to have Indy seeing invaders up-close. And the grand finale is out of the X-Files.
I find myself under the impression of having just been slapped across the face by Lucas. The Indy I know deals mostly with Biblical artifacts and curses, or material under the blanket of ancient religions. Sure, there has always been supernatural material in Indiana Jones, but it was always in an ancient, mummy type package. Indy finds the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, and sacred Hindu stones. Indy visits locations in the ancient world while solving ancient mysteries. Indy deals with archeology, not Mars. Sadly, not anymore.
I respect the decision to base the movie 19 years since Crusade. I respect Lucas bringing in a Soviet enemy. I even respect Lucas' wish to base this installment on the serials of the 1950s, which dealt largely with aliens. But to shamelessly incorporate material that has no basis in an Indy movie is too much to bear. Lucas should have taken the hint from the latest Star Wars movies: more is not always better. More stunts, more creatures, and more aliens do not bring back the Indiana Jones of old. Nostalgia dies hard at the end of this film.
Nevertheless, Ford still has Indy-style. Spielberg directs a mean movie, and the writing is good for the first half. But the ending is hard to watch if you consider yourself an Indy purist, someone who believes Indy fights ancient cults while discovering artifacts. With so many other avenues Lucas could have taken with this latest Indiana, adding ET is a hard move to justify.
I say to fans of the first three to go see this movie for Ford, Spielberg, Labeouf, the music of Williams, and the fedora. See it for that classic Indy swagger this has, albeit in sparing amount. But be warned Lucas has once again proved himself to be unable to control his urge to feverishly add unwanted material to his former masterpieces. IJatKotCS lodges itself in fourth place in the Indy legacy, and I will try hard to forget the final images of the alien menace- although I fear doing so will be a truly out-of-this-world task.
Review by naboof11 from the Internet Movie Database.
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