Movie Review: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
Critical Critic: LaRae | Published on: May 22, 2008 |
Filed under: Action/Adventure
Directed By: Steven Spielberg
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Starring: Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Shia LaBeouf, John Hurt
IMDB Link: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Movie Trailer: Trailer
Can you believe its been 19 years since Indiana Jones graced (used loosely) the silver screen? In this latest installment of the storied franchise, which in my point of view is 18 year overdue, archeology professor and all around bad ass, Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is accused of treason when his friend Mac (Ray Winstone) betrays the country and helps KGB agents, including psychic Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), into a secure American base to retrieve a priceless artifact. Indiana also learns from a young man, Mutt (Shia LaBeouf), that his friend Professor Oxley (John Hurt) has been kidnapped and may be hurt. Mutt and Indiana Jones set off to follow the clues they hope will lead to Ox, retrieve the artifact and stop the KGB from realizing their dream of ultimate power.
Director Steven Spielberg and cinematographer Janusz Kaminski had a distinctive intent for the visuals of the film. The entire movie kind of looks like a soft focused wedding picture. There is obvious attention paid to light and framing – everyone is positioned in an unnaturally perfect formation to let you see all their faces. There is a glossy sheen over most of the scenes, as if Kaminski went through thousands of gallons of Vaseline in the making of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Even though it evokes feelings of my aunts wedding, it works to create a retro feeling, to put the audience in the fifties with Dr. Jones.
Even the script is full of 50’s goodness. David Keopp, George Lucas, Jeff Nathanson, and Philip Kaufman give the characters and moments a poodle-skirted edge. Mutt spends a considerable amount of time maintaining his era appropriate looks. The old fashioned banter between our heroes was a refreshing change from the modern rhetoric heard in today’s films. Occasionally the script wanders from camp to rotten cheese but the offenses are far between and easily forgivable and forgettable. Harrison Ford once again rocks as Indiana Jones. He effortlessly slipped back into the shoes of the role that helped catapult him to the stratosphere (I feared he couldn’t do it). For a man of his age (65), Harrison Ford can still crack the whip, deliver a perfect punchline and kick bad guy ass. I wish I could kick USSR agent butt at my age, half as well as Ford does at his.
The script is also chock full of adventure and action that I’ve grown to love in this genre that Indiana Jones defined (and what is missing from the ripoff National Treasure series). It starts us right off with a warehouse fight with the Russians, then takes us on a ridiculous car chase through South American jungles and drops us off at an ancient subterranean city where more dizzying whip handling clinics are held for hapless Russians.
However, there is one character in the movie that really annoyed the hell out of me. It was that damned hat. We get it – the hat finds its way mysteriously back on Indy’s head and that he adores it. The hat is probably his safety blanket, his best friend, his lover and his mother, but it doesn’t talk and it doesn’t do anything except roll around to get dirty like a pig, so we don’t need to dedicate fully 24.44435% of the movie to the hat. How much did the hat get paid? If by screen time, the headpiece must have been the highest paid character in the movie.
No matter though, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a fitting addition to the Indiana Jones collection of movies (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) . Some strict Indiana Jones puritans may find a few aspects of the movie a little annoying but I found it to be an enjoyable ride and definitely one I’d take again.
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About: LaRae I'm going to infuse some well needed class here! |
Marc posted a response on: May 22, 2008 | Reply
I can’t wait to see this. Thanks for not giving away any spoilers/
Dayanna posted a response on: May 22, 2008 | Reply
What a fantastic movie. You must be a stickler for the small details because I didn’t even notice the hat! What I did notice is how timeless Harrison Ford is. As he ages, he gets more and more refined and looks better and better. I hope they make a fifth.
SEO posted a response on: May 24, 2008 | Reply
Steven Spielberg movies are really great! I’ll surely watch this one!
Korn posted a response on: May 25, 2008 | Reply
Shia LaBeouf must be the luckiest mf-er on the planet. First Transformers and now Indiana Jones? I didn’t like him in Transfomers, so I hope he does Indy justice.
Diane Scott posted a response on: May 25, 2008 | Reply
Strangely enough everyone is discussing this today over at BlogCatalog. Small world
Stephen Erickson posted a response on: May 25, 2008 | Reply
I was disappointed. The script just didn’t engage me, although I did like the big reveal at the end.
manfred posted a response on: May 25, 2008 | Reply
Hands down, this is the worst of the bunch. I hope Spielberg stops before he runs this franchise into the ground further.
TV Bracket posted a response on: May 26, 2008 | Reply
I have been looking forward to this one since I really enjoyed the first Indy movies. I worry that the age of Ford will drag the movie down a bit, but the adventure hopefully make up for it.
Richaro posted a response on: May 27, 2008 | Reply
Big disappointment. Nothing new to engage our interest. Worst of the series for sure.
Same as the others. Should have stopped at Last Crusade but they needed the cash. Lots of cash.
Nolan posted a response on: May 29, 2008 | Reply
I’m not quite sure how I feel about the movie. What I do know is it did not live up to my expectations…..
Drew posted a response on: June 2, 2008 | Reply
Disappointed too. There was not enough tension. I lost my interest when swinging with the monkeys came.
paloma jiminez posted a response on: June 6, 2008 | Reply
I was expecting a very big bang out of Indiana Jones, but…I am still on the fence about this one. It came with so much high expectations, that I felt that this really wouldn’t add up to as much as they hype led on. I’m not fully disappointed…just a little let down.
Caitlin posted a response on: June 7, 2008 | Reply
I was so thrilled when I found out Speillberg was making a fourth Indy movie, I waited ages for it to be released, read all the articles, big build up. Big dissapointment for me. What I loved so much about the first three was how real they felt, like you could just go out and put on a hat, get a degree in archeology then you were Indiana Jones! Now with the new sci-fi aspect that has been completely destroyed for me.
Dental Marketing posted a response on: June 19, 2008 | Reply
Good review. I thought it was a fun summer movie that was ridiculous at times. If it’s really crappy, I would almost blame it on Lucas rather than Spielberg. That guy peaked a long time ago… yet we keep giving him money.
Lauren Gharfeh posted a response on: June 29, 2008 | Reply
I walked out of the theatre wishing I could write a formal complaint to Steven Speilberg!I was like “what Happened??” I kept thinking that Idiana Jones must have had a stroke or something because he just seemed so one dimentional.At times, it was borderline bad acting. Then opening scene made me feel like I was watching a scene out of Caddy Shack and the whole cross over into the sci-fi was a bad idea.
Adsens posted a response on: October 4, 2008 | Reply
Indiana Jones getting older and older. We probably see Ford for the last time acting this role.