I went to “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” with fairly high expectations. My fault entirely but I’ve always liked the style of the Indy films and I correctly surmised I would for the most part, be in for a good time. True to form, Spielberg seems to leave no question that he is the director of this film as his style is clearly present in some shots. The feeling is so tangible you almost have flashbacks of previous Indy films and during the jungle chase, of Jurassic Park.
This movie initially leaves you with positive feelings and high hopes. This soon become mixed which eventually evolve in to a bad taste in your mouth that lasts pretty much at the point the movie ends.
The Crystal Skull tries to an recreates some key elements of the franchise. The initial premise is rock solid and puts Indy well on his way to a confrontation with an evil empire. Who better to replace the Nazis than the Soviets? The Soviets are after the famed Crystal Skull and the reason they want it is equally logical to Indy films past, world domination.
What the movie does lack is coherence and it isn’t long before we see the film trying hard to tie up every loose end possible with winks and boorish references. This is where George Lucas’ influence is clearly felt and evokes flashbacks of the Star Wars prequels. Lucas seems to think that talking about previous films in current ones and slavishly relating them back to their progenitors is a cheap way to cash in on their popularity. He seems to believe these tie-ins are the only way to legitimize a film as part of the series. What it does accomplish is frustration.
Lucas seems to be an evil Walt Disney from some parallel universe, sucking the magic out of a film. He does his best to leave The Crystal Skull a shell with no possible mystery. The film is schizophrenic at times, jumping between Spielberg’s desire to make everything look epic and Lucas’ hamfisted attempts to relate the story to the audience, a wasted and pointless exercise because these are probably some of the most watched and referenced films in movie history. There is utterly no need for such things.
There is a sense of disappointment to the way this film ends because it resoundingly ends leaving use with no real mystery, something the previous films gave us by not obsessing over answering every question. Indy is an aging man with a son who is hinted at being his heir apparent. We are left with a coy smile from Indy telling his son he “isn’t done yet” . Frankly, you know he is.
I can’t fault Ford’s efforts, he obviously put a lot of physical effort in this film and he isn’t afraid to mix it up in fight scenes or do scenes most actors his age would shy away from. Ford seems dedicated to making sure Indy, even as an aging professor can hold his own.
The ending of the film jumps so far and away from anything related to the genre that you honestly wonder who could have thought this was a good idea. The earlier films were good fun but there is a difference between fun and nonsense. We knew it was coming earlier in the film but you hoped there would be a skeptical answer supplied instead of little green men in flying saucers. What made the previous Indy films so entertaining was the fanciful take on historical events and myth, this film doesn’t seem to care.
The film is so concerned with loose ends, adding new characters and dashing off to various locals that aspects of the film seem to be stripped down to simply save time. What they stripped away was the premise and reason for many of the actions and events. Even solving the atypical temple puzzles/booby traps seem like a yawn the character blow past instead of stopping to take in the possibility of their own demise that built suspense in the previous films. The last half of the film seems to be in a rush to reach it’s conclusion. It almost feels unfair, I’m here to experience another installment in the Indy saga, not make things neat and tidy as fast as possible.
All of this could be overlooked but in the end The Crystal Skull seems like a wrestling match between the styles of Spielberg and Lucas. I think it’s obvious that Lucas can’t write or direct his way out of a paper bag. Spielberg for all of my issues with him, shows he can still make something shine in a unique way. Ford’s acting and obvious comfort with his character saves the day in a lot of instances but the film falls flat at times because it becomes rushed and totally silly, even by Temple of Doom standards.
Despite all of this, I can’t say I disliked the film, I’m just a tad dismayed
