The TV Addict 

In the first ten minutes of INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL, I was worried. Harrison Ford didn’t seem like Indy. He was dressed like him, he looked like him, but after he gets pulled out of a trunk his lines and interactions seemed forced, stilted and awkward. They were hollow with the significant gap between what his delivery was and what it should have been. It’s as if Ford was doing his best Indy impression rather than just being Indy again. It didn’t bode well for the film as a whole.

Thankfully though as the minutes go by, and the main plot started revving up, we’re treated to a legitimate (if not complete, but more on that later) INDIANA JONES experience. After all, that’s what we’re looking for when we watch an Indy movie. An experience. One that sweeps us up along with the adventure, where when things really get going we’re right there in the thick of it with our hero. It’s why we go to the movies. It’s also why it’s easier to overlook CRYSTAL SKULL’s flaws, of which there are a few (some minor, some major). It’s not a perfect film, nor is it one that surpasses any of its predecessors, but it’s an INDIANA JONES film, one that’s exciting and adventurous, and that’s more than I could have hoped for.

That’s never more apparent than in the deliriously staged action-sequences, including a great motorcycle chase earlier in the film, and an intense jungle sequence in the film that is quintessential INDIANA JONES in the way the stakes increasingly get raised, and one perilous situation dominoes into the next. It’s also apparent in the puzzle solving, map following, and tomb raiding/studying sequences, which are unfortunately loaded down by David Koepp’s somewhat clunky and exposition heavy script, but still contain the thrill that wells up in us and Indy (so lovingly conveyed again by Ford) as he gradually solves his way to the goal. All of that proves that Steven Spielberg still knows how to direct the crap out of an action/adventure film, and his decision to not shoot in non-digital, gives CRYSTAL SKULL a wonderful look, even if it’s sometimes interrupted by much more CGI than we were led to believe would be in the film. But that’s the price of working in Hollywood and Georce Lucas these days, and it remains largely and thankfully pretty unobtrusive.

As for the cast, Mutt (Shie LaBeouf) is thankfully no Jar Jar Binks and not only fails to be annoying, but actually proves to be a charming, and (gasp!) welcome addition to the Indyverse. Cate Blanchett seems to relish the exuberant campiness of her role, even if the film doesn’t really give her a lot to do in a role that is the weakest Indy villain to date. Ray Winstone bogs down the story as a largely unnecessary character, and John Hurt just acts crazy while helping chug the plot along. But where the old Indy charm comes through (and how can it not?) is with Karen Allen. Aside from the fact that goodness gracious is it great to see her again, she slips back into the role of Marion Ravenwood as if she never left the RAIDERS set. As a result, she pulls Harrison Ford right back in with her and as a further result, pulls him that much more into the Indy character again. Their chemistry is still there, and when you see Indy’s gigantic grin when she first shows up, I realized I was grinning even more. Their interactions are some of the highlights of the film.

As I hinted though, the film isn’t perfect. The ending - and to some extent the origins of the object they are pursuing and the story derived from it – is a horrendous, horrendous mistake, that pretty much stops you dead with the force of an Indy punch to the face. I’ll refrain from commenting on it further, because I don’t want to spoil it (though a lot of reviewers have already), but come back next week for a spoiler-full article on it. There’s also a bad call involving vines and monkeys. You’ll know what I mean when you see it.

The biggest problem the film has though, and from which some of its other minor issues emerge, brings me back to those first few minutes of the film. What I said above about the beginning of the film seeming like Harrison Ford was impersonating Indy rather than just being Indy, is something you could unfortunately say about the movie itself. Unlike Ford though, it’s something the film never really overcomes. You know it’s an Indiana Jones film, you can see that it’s an Indiana Jones film, and it is an Indiana Jones film in a sense, but you never feel it’s an Indiana Jones film in the same way as the earlier ones. It stills works though because it’s an exciting film (one of the better action adventures I’ve seen in the last few years), and – more importantly – it’s a really really good imitation, which is why
I can still say I loved the film and had a blast.

But in the end, it’s still an imitation.

If you’ll indulge me in a little analogy, I think I may have found the best way to describe my experience:

Watching INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTALL SKULL is something like meeting up with your best friend from your childhood whom you haven’t seen in years. Initially the encounter is awkward and stilted; rusty with nostalgia, and how you remember each other. Yet as you go on, bit by bit things loosen up, and you start to fall into the old comfortable familiarity. You’re starting to have fun, just like you did in the old days. Of course it’s not exactly that way, because it can’t be. You’re both different people now with the time that has passed, and there will be parts of their personality that just don’t work for you and even grate on your nerves. However, you can overlook them mostly because you’re having a good time, and it’s just great to see them again. It’s in all honesty all you can really hope for, and that’s exactly why you’re happy and enjoying yourself.

It’s also exactly why you can look past the fact that at the end of the evening your friend got stone-ass drunk, started stumbling around like an idiot, and muttering gibberish to anyone who would listen.

 Overall rating: B