Brad GaylardReview: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
May 28th 2008 01:24
Time changes everything.
You know what it’s like when you catch up with old friends – you get together, have a few drinks and talk about the good old days. You laugh and reminisce and recount legendary tales of the exploits of youth. It’s a great time. However, these reunions are never able to recapture the same magic as the first time around. The halcyon days are long gone, and nostalgic reminiscences are but a pale imitation.
That, to me, is exactly what is wrong with Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It’s like catching up with friends and going over the good old days, without ever re-creating their magic. And to be fair to Spielberg and co, that was always an impossible proposition. Raiders of the Lost Ark is a high watermark in adventure cinema that has spawned many imitators, but very few equals.
Don’t get me wrong; Indy IV is a decent, serviceable action/adventure yarn. Steven Spielberg can still stage a coherent action sequence better than most working directors out there. The problem is you expect more than just serviceable from an iconic character like Indiana Jones.
The filmmakers seem to be resting on the laurels of Indiana Jones’ iconography here – that unique silhouette, the power of that great score, and the knowing winks to previous adventures. It’s great to see that stuff, but at the same time, they are also adding nothing to the Jones iconography. In fact, in this film, he has stopped being Indiana Jones, and is referred to more often as Henry… or Jonesy… or Old man. But you can count on one hand the number of times someone calls him Indy. To me, that is a shame.
Of course, all these gripes stem from the weight of expectation that comes attached to a film with Indiana Jones in the title. And to be fair, there’s also plenty to like in the film. For one, Harrison Ford has a spark in his eye that’s been missing since the last time he donned a fedora and cracked a whip. I’ve missed that Harrison Ford, and he does well to bring back the charming rogue character we all love so much.
There’s also a motorcycle chase early in the film that has Spielberg firing on all cylinders (a sequence that comes closest to recapturing the Indy of old). The film moves along at a fairly decent clip, broken up by moments of awkward exposition that reek of George Lucas’ finger in the pie. However, it’s still a visually lush film, with a few great money shots, some decent one-liners, and some great action set pieces.
But I still expected more. The third act basically relegates Indy to just one of an ensemble cast, moving from location to location and looking awe-struck at things – a mere passenger being carried along by the requirements of the plot.
It would appear that there is also an agenda here to pass the adventuring torch to a new generation, embodied by Shia Labouef’s character of Mutt Williams. Shia does a reasonable job as the capable sidekick, although I hope they don’t try and spin out a new franchise based on his character. Karen Allen is back as Marion Ravenwood - Indy’s one true love. She’s still feisty, but it seems more lip service to the fire that used to burn in her belly, rather than any real spice.
Cate Blanchett hams it up as the villain with the hokey Russian accent, although with the severe haircut, she looks just as alien as the eponymous crystal skulls. Speaking of Aussies with dodgy accents, keep an eye out for a cameo from Alan Dale with an accent that manages to be distractingly inconsistent in a bare three minutes of screen time. John Hurt is wasted as Professor Oxley, a character who seems mostly unnecessary for all the time he is given. Ray Winstone rounds out the cast as “Mac”, the obligatory betrayer of Indy’s trust.
Finally, I suppose I must mention the visual effects in the film. The last time Indiana Jones went adventuring, CGI effects had yet to impose themselves – it was all practical sets and effects. Indy IV does suffer somewhat from an over-reliance on computer whiz-bangery. Remember at the start of Raiders, how Indy was in the Amazon and visited that temple? It felt like Indy was actually in a real jungle and temple. Well, in this film, Indy returns to the Amazon, but now it all reeks a bit too much of artifice. The colours are too rich, the sets feel like sets, and everything seems a little too… enhanced.
Also, I would like to place a moratorium on CGI animals in films – be they dodgy prairie dogs, or distracting monkeys. They only lent a silliness to the affair that wasn’t present in any previous incarnation of the Indiana Jones franchise.
I know I’ve been very hard on the film, but I do feel I should re-iterate that Indy IV is a very entertaining film. It is pure popcorn fun, and even though it doesn’t capture the lightning in a bottle that earlier incarnations managed, it is still an old friend. And, even though time has changed everything and the halcyon days are long gone, I still love to catch up with my old friends.
7/10
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