Better than its reputation suggests, but not by much.
Released on May 22, 2008 - a full nineteen years after the previous installment, this
sci-fi adventure film still took home an impressive $786 million dollars, a making a solid $600
million in profit.
The 119 minute story, directed once again by Steven Spielberg, sees adventurer and 'tenured
professor of archeology' Indiana Jones entangled in a Soviet plot to uncover the secrets behind
the titular artifacts.
Keeping with the tradition of the franchise, the PG-13 rated film is a homage to the B-movies
of its depicted era.
In this case, that genre is the campy science fiction serials of the 1950s.
At 65 years old, Harrison Ford remains as spry and charming as ever - and thanks to
a script that's acutely aware of his slightly limited abilities, his age honestly don't
weaken the production in the slightest.
If anything, his added crankiness and experience - makes him a more interesting hero; he's
older and wiser than his portrayal of the character in the 80s.
In short, playing up his old age works well for the picture, and results in plenty of
amusing jokes.
And as the character himself once eloquently defended, "It's not the years, it's the mileage."
Shia LaBeouf is the young, courageous and vain sidekick, who actually does a great job
in the unfortunately thankless role.
Sarcastically remarking on Jones' day-job he quips, "Oh, you're a teacher.
Well, that's gonna be a big help."
Their unwilling mentor / student relationship is a fitting role-reversal from the father
/ son dynamic of part three.
Karen Allen returns as Indy's old flame - and while she's perfectly warm and enjoyable in
the familiar role, it feels more like fan-service than organic storytelling.
The usually talented Cate Blanchett turns in a somewhat stilted performance...
who sounds like Barbara Walters faking a bad Russian accent.
John Hurt, Ray Winstone, and Jim Broadbent round out the supporting cast with excellent
performances - each bringing real personality to their much smaller parts.
Unlike its predecessors - which all start with awesome cold-opens - nothing really happens
in the first 13 minutes of this movie.
And when something exciting finally does occur, it culminates with Ford waking up in a nuke-town
minutes before a test denotation - which sees the old professor hurried locking himself
in a lead-lined fridge to survive the atomic blast.
Much has been said about this ridiculous sequence, so often in fact that the phrase "nuke the
fridge" is now synonymous with "jump the shark" - a trope to denote when a franchise has finally
gone too far into the absurd.
However unbelievable this scene is though - and boy is it ever - I will say it's still
a really fun sequence.
Other individual moments help recapture the magic of this iconic series, like when Ford
helps a student with some homework after him and LaBeouf come sliding under the tables
of a library on a motorcycle, mid-chase.
A nighttime grave robbing excursion is beautifully shot, and rather interesting, but our characters
don't have a deadline, or any real threat pushing them forward.
It's a minor, but embarrassing scriptwriting mistake for a franchise that usually doesn't
make any.
Later, there's an unbelievable sword-fight atop two speeding jeeps through the jungle,
and after that Shia is swinging through the treetops alongside a hoard of wild monkeys
to catch back up with his group.
The absurdity of this scene notwithstanding, the visual effects from Industrial Light And
Magic are hardly up to their usual standards.
There's a few nice references to earlier films along the way, especially the inaugural installment
- but all the pandering to yesteryear won't mask the missteps of today.
And sadly there are a few big ones here; namely the central MacGuffin of the story - the crystal
skulls.
Spoiler talk ahead.
The older installments had fantastical elements too, but they were based on historical mythology
and religion, whereas the quest here revolves around hocus pocus inter-dimensional space
aliens whose detached skulls contain magnetic, psycho kinetic, brainwashing powers.
Having said that, given the magical context of the earlier films - and the borrowed themes
and styles of 1950s cinema; Indiana Jones discovering aliens is hardly a surprise, let
alone a problem, but the goofy tone and CGI-heavy visuals certainly are.
Dueling leitmotifs in competing octaves is a neat twist on recycled themes, but ultimately
- there are no standout tracks on John Williams' soundtrack.
Indeed, this is the only film in the series not to receive a nomination for "Best Original
Score".
In fact, the movie wasn't nominated for anything.
Fans of the franchise will probably enjoy seeing these old characters again, but its
broader appeal is limited.
"Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull" definitely isn't a bad movie, it's
just a bad Indiana Jones movie.
Now let's see what you had to say.
While some were willing to defend this picture, most didn't - and your scores averaged to
an ALRIGHT.
Despite its flaws, I had a GOOD time with this movie, so I'm scoring it accordingly.
That does it for this quick excerpt - but if you'd like to watch full episodes of "Movie
Night", and submit your own reviews to be included on the show, please visit the Jogwheel
YouTube channel.
My name is Jonathan Paula, thanks for watching and have a good Movie Night!