Posted: Fri May 23, 2008 7:30 am Post subject: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Indiana Jones... I always knew some day you'd come walking back through my door...
I wonder how many Indy 4 reviews have started with that? Probably far too many so who am I to break a trend.
Caught the 9:30 screening of this last night amid a pretty packed cinema of loud talkers (had to ask them be quiet, they looked genuinely surprised) and loud popcorn eaters (die!). The difficult thing with a sequel to a series that you grew up with is to be able to look at it in the same light. When we watch the original Star Wars movies or the Indiana Jones films we watch them with a certain amount of nostalgia and childhood based glee that we don't bring to films we watch brand new today. This childhood glee can allow us to overlook certain shoddy parts of the old films, but we don't forgive similar things in other films due to the lack of the glee. Thankfully for the most part the older Star Wars and Indiana Jones don't tend to need this glee (working in full effect here as you can see) but the newer ones do.
For me one of the chief problems of the Star Wars prequels was that Lucas went Over the top with trying to make Anakin a sympathetic character and giving him a big story (e.g Noooooo <-- Bad idea) and then to aim parts of it directly at children rather than a general audience. With Indy 4, Spielberg and Lucas have made it a little bit too comic, Raiders had some funny moments mixed with a more serious tone and Crusade was a little more comic but still serious to an extent. Crystal Skrull I mean Skull goes overboard with it, there were lots of slapstick-ish moments and the audience spent too much time laughing at what was going on. You may say that it's good the film is fun and you'd be right it is a lot of fun and I did enjoy it, but there is that line that can crossed into the realms of sillyness which is something you don't want because you lose the intensity of the film and it erodes any 'Close call' sequences.
Regardless it was nice to see Indy back in action with his entourage of supporting characters, lets see Marion Ravenwood... check, Mutt Williams... check, Mac... Check, Ox... check. That's a fair few characters and they all bring a little something to the table. The film is firmly set in it's 1950's time period, the tones of the cinematography speak volumes of film noir, the big bad Russkies and communist witchhunts and a particularly fun image at the end which reminded me nicely of 50's pulp sci-fi comics/novels. They've managed to make the transition into a different period quite nicely though I do think I prefer the colouration of the original films but when you have a new cinematographer onboard it's difficult to replicate someone elses work effectively. Thankfully he didn't really try.
The story is quite interesting and though they do ramble about the mythology more than they have done previously (maybe they watch Da Vinci Code too often) it isn't difficult to follow. The Crystal Skull is also quite an interesting MaGuffin especially at the end.
Indy 4 is fun and worth going to see at the cinema, the only real shame is that it's a little overly comic and maybe a little too long.
I'm going for 7/10 because my childhood glee won't allow for any less.... bad childhood glee _________________ Pro Massacre Boy!
I'll try and keep spoilers to a bare minimum, but I can't make any promises.
I walked out with the thoughts:
Yeah. Definatly an Indy flick, which is no bad thing.
Glad to see the return of Bad Guy Face Melting. Hallowed tradition that.
Action sequences, good.
Nods to previous films, good.
Mentions of a packed past, after the War.
Ammusing bits (Lettermans vs. Greasers)
But thats the story they went with? Really? Hmmmm. It was a little bit on the thin side, I thought. Maybe its just that I don't think it fits in with the previous films mythology all that well (ie: Religious- Judaism, Hinduism, Christanity)
Still, a definatly worthy watch. Though a sequel wasn't strictly needed after the end of Crusade (I mean, they did all ride off into the sunset, this is still an enjoyable outing, with a wrap up at the end, so all good.
No, no more need to be made.
Do I think they'll stop? Maybe.
But Ford probably won't be coming back. Well, maybe not as a central character. Certainly they are more stories that could reasonably be told, but I don't think they can get away with using a new actor in Ford's place, a la Bond. Theres a limit to the age an actor can play the same character, especially one such as Indy, and though this works, I don't think they can repeat it again.
I enjoyed it, but it may not be one for those who aren't die hard Indy fans.
7.5/10 _________________ Let There Be Lightning
went to see this today. thought it was ace. made this indy fan very, very happy from start to end. everything was in its place, great cast. great feel...awesome
for those who think the story was a little light i think it can be easly forgotten that this is a total homage to the 50s be movie just as the others where to the 30s serial...so that would explain the the shift from myth and the occult fascination of the 30s to the weird science and cold war parania in the 50s.
I realised that the war parinoia was part of the era, but I didn't think about the plot reflecting the times as well. _________________ Let There Be Lightning
I really, really wanted to like this film but just found myself comparing it to the previous films and it not coming up to scratch. I don't want to be nitpicky, but the fairly heavy use of CGI was my main dislike - particularly the jungle car chase and the animals.
I didn't that the performances were all that great, and John Hurt was wasted playing a crazy person. _________________
When Mac is revealed to be a double agent for the first time, the reaction that Harrison Ford put out made me think they were just faking it... just turned out it was bad acting :S
End Spoilers!!!! _________________ Pro Massacre Boy!
Seen it now. I enjoyed it very much on its own merits. Very different to the other Indy films I have seen but as Norsefire1 says it had different influences.
I agree that it captured the 50s mood very well - all the paranoia and Von Danniken mythology. The bit with the Mannequins was pure Twilight Zone.
There were some "Lucassy bits" but they were kept to a minimum.- and John Hurt was a bit of an "NPC plot device " but over all a good bank holiday film and did what it said on the tin.
No Indy film after the first has ever topped the melting Nazis though.. _________________
Well, you had Nazi Face Melting in Arc, then Nazi melting as he aged so fast in Crusade, and in Skull you had a bunch of Commies meeting their burny fate in the face of the jet engine at the beginning, and then at the end the Psychic(?) commie got her eyes melted then evaporated.
Face melting is an Indiana Jones Tradition! _________________ Let There Be Lightning
For example guns/vehicles/tech being used that has not been invented at the time the film is set
The wrong number of stars on the American flag for when the film is set
Appalling South American geography – some cities put on the wrong side and misnamed countries for when the film is set.
Personally I didn't spot any of these, probably because I was caught up in the story, which is what I guess they rely on. It's not that these things are important to the story telling, for me knowing about them doesn't spoil it, its just sloppy stuff someone should have noticed on a production this size. _________________
I'm fresh from a trip to the cinema today from Indy 4...
I'm going to try to keep this as brief as possible; however, I am a die-hard Indy fan and hold Raiders of the Lost Ark as my own, very personal, Greatest Film of All Time. I loved Temple of Doom and even thoroughly enjoyed the far more tongue-in-cheek Last Crusade.
And I loved Crystal Skull...
It took me about 15 minutes to get into it (the sequence in what appeared to be Area 51 - or, at least, a sequence in a giant hangar with the numbers '51' on the doors). I'm not quite sure why and, when Indy first appeared on camera, I didn't feel as if Harrison Ford could really hold up as Indiana Jones anymore. He looked old and haggard, a far cry from the devil-may-care adventurer from Raiders; even his voice came across as... well, older.
Then the action began... but I get ahead of myself.
The plot was a lot of fun; wordy at times but fun nevertheless. It wasn't until the final act that I truly appreciated the Crystal Skull as the film's macguffin. We have to remember this is an Indiana Jones film - the plot shouldn't be too complicated but must allow for its characters to be swept away with adventure. It worked. I even found myself accepting the sci-fi elements come the conclusion of the final act - for some reason, it worked.
The acting was fun, as always. Once I settled into the film, Harrison's age became increasingly less a problem; I think this was due to his interaction with Mutt. Shia LeBoeuf and Harrison had this wonderful chemistry on-screen and brought both characters wonderfully to life; oddly enough, I felt Karen Allen's performance was the only one to come in as ...I don't know... overexcited...? I felt she looked pleased to just be there in the film rather than giving us the edgier Marion of Raiders (although one must remember this is a more aged Marion now). Although, again, there was wonderful chemistry between Harrison & Karen Allen; really flowed. Good supporting performances, particularly from Cate Blanchett, although I was disappointed with Ray Winstone - his story was far too obvious and his character wasn't particularly well thought-out in my opinion.
The action sequences were superb. The sequence in the hangar had me feeling genuine butterflies, not to mention that wonderful sequence with the convoy. I won't say too much more but I felt the CGI was used to good effect here. And yes, face-melting - although I can't say I noticed it in the cinema (at least not until I logged on here).
I loved the tips to previous films - and, yes, I got a real kick out of seeing the Ark of the Covenant on screen.
In all, a thoroughly enjoyable film; one that made me glad Lucas & Spielberg pushed ahead with their plans to make a fourth instalment 20 years on. I had my concerns - I didn't want Indy 4 - but this was a worthy instalment to the canon. I just hope this one is the last and they don't follow up with their hint at the finale...
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