Rating of
3/4
Indy Is Back, But Extreme Fans Be Warned
bingcrosbyb - wrote on 05/22/08
(SPOILERS)
“I hope they make another Indiana Jones. That was pretty good.”
I heard that comment from a young boy (maybe 10?) while I was walking out of a screening of the incredibly fun, entertaining, and nostalgic Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. About halfway through watching a midnight screening of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, I had this big stupid grin on my face. I was watching the first Indiana Jones movies in 19 years. Wow. I couldn’t believe it. And on top of that, it actually FELT like an Indiana Jones movie. Big action, a few laughs, some old friends, some new ones. As the movie ended and the lights went up, there was a nice round of applause (though not loudly) and some hummings of the Raiders March. I found myself even humming along. While Indy may be older, there is still some magic with the man in the hat. Ok, now that the obligatory intro is out of the way, on to the review! First, I’d like to point out my initial impressions of the movie:
1) Die-hard Indy Purists (including myself): Leave any lingering thoughts you have about Raiders at the theater doors. To expect something even reaching that level of excellence would be proving Lucas right. You did expect the 2nd Coming.
2) This movie is without a doubt the 3rd best in the series. It combines the fast paced action and minor plot details found in Temple and the laughs, but interesting story in Crusade. My brother found this to be better than Temple. I disagreed and said it was just a little better than Crusade. Just my opinion. But who knows? As Ebert said, how can you rank “sausage?”
3) Stars Wars/Indy fans can rest easy: Lucas did not rape your childhood again. At most, as I saw a review put it, Lucas “is making lewd comments to you in a public restroom.” The touchy feely hands of George Lucas are few and far between. Most (75%) of the action oriented sequences are done with either Matte backgrounds or traditional stunt work. Apart from the prairie dogs, Mutt’s monkeys, and the bloated finale, Lucas doesn’t really feel like he had much influence in the film. That’s not to say that there isn’t CGI. There is. But most of the action is old fashioned and welcomed and the CGI is done pretty well and much better than the CGI shown in the Hulk previews.
4) Harrison Ford is 65. Harrison Ford can still kick bad guy ass. Enough said.
5) Spielberg’s magic is still there. The panorama silhouette of Indy looking at the atomic blast is cinema glory. It’s an amazing scene. The motorcycle scene is reminiscent of the Last Crusade and the Jungle Chase is probably the best in the series next to the Raider’s Truck Chase. The editing and cinematography are superb. The script is bumbling at times, but Spielberg’s direction helps right the ship.
6) I’ll admit it. The ending was a minor letdown. I expected Indy to somehow play a huge role towards the end. But for the last 15-20 minutes, he seems to become a bystander. Furthermore, I thought it would have been an excellent idea to have the aliens turn out to have religious ties or earthly ties. Were they really aliens or just manifestations of supernatural powers like the Ark? I could have done without seeing the UFO.
Bottom Line:
I suspect Crystal Skull will disappoint some longtime fans. We’ll probably hear griping about the plot’s science fiction leanings (even though it’s no more outlandish than the Ark of the Covenant melting Nazis’ faces, almost anything in The Temple of Doom or the everlasting life promised by the Holy Grail in The Last Crusade). They say time blurs the line between nostalgia and reality. When Crusades came out, I left the theater with almost the exact same feeling I did with Skull. It was a pretty damn good movie. Not great. But damn good. And over time, Crusades has become endeared and one of my favorite films. Is it better than the ‘pretenders’ National Treasure, The Mummy, and Tomb Raider? Hell yes. Most Indiana Jones fans will probably say this is a pretty good movie, but only an above average Indiana Jones flick. I know. Expectations are high. But as for new fans? Well, let’s just say they will be buying the trilogy and craving the next adventure of Dr. Jones. And in the meantime, I’ll be adding this welcome film to my Indiana Jones Quadrilogy Collection.
