May 29th, 2008 By Robyn Oglesby
Movie Review: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Indiana Jones fans beware. I will admit that I went to this movie with somewhat high expectations because I am a fan of the franchise. To me, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull totally missed the mark. I was hoping for a fun old-fashioned action/adventure and what I was given was a washed-up version of the original.
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is set in 1957, almost 20 full years after Last Crusade took place and at the peak of the cold war. Due to the time period, the obvious villains in the plot are members of the Soviet Union led by a woman played by Cate Blanchett. After evading his Russian captures, Indy is approached by Mutt Williams, played by Shia LeBeouf, who is hoping to track down an old friend and his mother. This is, of course, the device that leads Indy into his whirlwind journey into the jungle in order to save the world.
Even though this film was a disappointment to me, I do think a lot of things were done right. The casting felt right, the dialogue wasn’t overly cheesy, and the acting was actually not that bad. I also enjoyed the fact that the story revolved around events during the time in which the movie was set. That being said, I had two big problems with the film.
First, the villain didn’t seem threatening enough. The other issue I had centers around the ‘artifact’ they are attempting to find. It just felt as though the story was rushed and that they tried to do too much with it. I think the film would have worked much better had the filmmakers simplified it.
In my opinion, Raiders of the Lost Ark remains the best film of the series. Last Crusade follows in second place in my book because to me, it has the same feel as Raiders. Last place is a toss up for me between Temple of Doom, due to its disconnect from Raiders and Last Crusade, and Crystal Skull because of its utter lack of soul.
I would give Crystal Skull a rating of 3. It’s not worth the money to see it in the theater, but I would recommend it as a rental to any fans of the franchise.
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Justin Williams
May 29, 2008 @ 08:57AM
I was all into this movie for the first 90 minutes. And then the ending happened. Total WTF moment.
Jenna
May 29, 2008 @ 09:10AM
Aww, I grew up watching Indiana Jones…I was like 8 and wanted to watch it every weekend. And of course my favorite always has been and will be Temple of Doom! Followed closely by The Last Crusade. I never did really like Raiders of the Lost Arc. Did anyone besides me notice it making a debut in Crystal Skull—as they were exiting the warehouse at the beginning a motorcycle or something slammed into a crate…and wahlah! You got a small glimpse of it ;)
Being such a major fan of Indiana Jones, I think this is a must see for the big screen. I also think this was a little wishy washy, but I went in there expecting something like that since it is not only a 4th movie, but a 4th movie done 20 years later. If you never were a fan of Indiana Jones…you couple probably skip seeing it in the theatre, but if you were ever at any point in your life an Indiana Jones fan, I think seeing it in the theatre is a must.
Cali
May 29, 2008 @ 11:17AM
I was disappointed. I would recommend anyone rent it, but it’s not worth 17 dollars to see it in the theater. When I think Indianan Jones, i think action, adventure, lots of history and archeology, not aliens. Really? Aliens? So disappointed.
Midgetqueen
May 29, 2008 @ 11:21AM
Nothing on the nuke-the-fridge scene (“Nuke the fridge” is the new “Jump the Shark”!) or the cringe-inducing Shia-as-Tarzan bit?
OK, so I actually laughed really hard at the fridge-nuke bit. But only because it was outrageously bad enough to be funny.
And yes, I totally agree with Justin. WTF was up with that ending? Did George Lucas get drunk and watch too many of the not-so-good X-Files episodes while he was trying to write the script?
And the wedding. I wanted to be excited about it, really I did. I love those two together as much as the next hopeless romantic. But that whole scene was just… bleh.
The movie had its good moments, but even the Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Shia LeBeouf, AND Cate Blanchett’s general awesomeness couldn’t save it from the blah-pile.
Robyn
May 29, 2008 @ 01:37PM
@ Jenna - The ark also had a cameo in the Last Crusade. Well, sort of. When they are in the sewer looking for the knight’s grave, they see a picture of the ark on the wall and Indy makes a comment about it.
@ midgetqueen - I didn’t want to make my comments too specific in order to not spoil it for those who want to see it. I did think the fridge scene was a little to “Die Hard” and yes, i did do a face-palm when Shia went swinging through the jungle.
I must say, it’s hard to place all the blame on Lucas though. His credit according to IMDB is for story, which could just be because he was the original creator of Indiana Jones, or because he came up with the concept for this movie. The screen play was written by David Koepp, who also has credits on Spiderman, War of the Worlds, and Jurassic Park. Oh, and the alien angle was a total Spielberg thing. Very Close Encounters. I’m not saying the Lucas is blame-free. Only pointing out that there are others responsible for the way the movie was made.
SierraK
May 29, 2008 @ 03:15PM
After watching that movie I told my family I felt mentally violated, lol in a total joking way though. I was disappointed in the movie, the whole thing just didn’t feel like Indiana Jones AT ALL, felt more like a parody of Indiana Jones :(
Dr. Venkman
May 29, 2008 @ 07:30PM
Watching this film was as if someone with just rudimentary knowledge of the characters wrote a first draft of a screenplay, then someone who had never directed actors before (see the instances of the hammy acting of the usually outstanding Cate Blanchett and the zero chemistry interaction between Indy and Marion) got the job as director. Then George Lucas came in and added a bunch of unnecessary CGI animals.
It was not just a bad Indiana Jones movie, it was a bad movie period.
I agree that Lucas isn’t only to blame. Koepp is a very mediocre screenwriter and Spielberg slept-walk through directing.
Vincent
May 29, 2008 @ 08:24PM
I concur with most of what has already been said. I came to the theater with very high expectations, but at the same time I had flashbacks of Episode One in my head.
The movie isn’t bad really, it just doesn’t live up to its’ namesake. I think there wasn’t nearly enough of Indy’s wisecracks and badassery, and the end made me want to barf. If you’ve seen the X-Files movie, you know how it all goes down.
I am disappointed that there is no Sean Connery, or any other familiar Indiana Jones faces. Except for the liquor drinking mountain woman that Indy knocked up, of course.
There isn’t enough glue to hold the whole thing together. Indy just so happens to randomly meet some kid who just so happens to be the son of some chick he used to know and he just so happens to be the father! omgwtf. The movie is a whirlwind of one incredible thing leading to another, but I don’t necessarily mean that in a good way.
I really want to say that I loved it, but I don’t. In fact, if it were the exact same movie except with a different IP, I’d probably not give it a second notice. Indiana Jones is still my hero though.
Vincent
May 29, 2008 @ 08:28PM
Oh and about the wedding. VERY underwhelming. I know they were old flames, but to get married after not seeing each other in years? Pshyeah.
I did like the end where Shia reaches down for Indy’s hat like he was going to put it on, and then Indy snatched it out of his hand with that Harrison Ford grin of his.
Justin Williams
June 04, 2008 @ 10:00PM
It’s not jumping the shark, its nuking the fridge.