Movie Review: Indiana Jones and the The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

By Daniel Dessinger

July 30, 2008

Here’s your moment of shock and awe for the week. I have not seen the first two Indiana Jones films, and I only remember bits and pieces and Sean Connery (hehe) from the “Last Crusade.” Might I add that every time I see this card on someecards.com, I chuckle to myself because I’m still secretly hopeful that X-Men: The Last Stand will turn out to be X-Men: The Next to Last Stand.

I’ve heard mixed reviews from friends and acquaintances about The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Maybe that’s because it’s a disappointment compared to the other 3 films. Maybe it’s because 19 years is a long time to wait to revive a character. I can’t really speak for them, but I can say that it’s currently my favorite of the summer action blockbusters. Granted I haven’t seen a lot of the typical summer blockbusters. I think Ironman’s the only one I’ve seen that officially counts, but Wanted, The Incredible Hulk and The Dark Knight are all on my current “To Watch” list.

Even though I hadn’t seen the first two films, and I didn’t remember much from the third one, I was still able to enjoy the fourth installment. The friend with whom I went had seen the first two, and he recognized and appreciated some references from the previous films, but there wasn’t anything that took away from my understanding.

I’ve never been all gaga over Harrison Ford, so adding Disney’s former “golden child” Shia LaBeouf was a definite plus for me. I didn’t discover him until I saw The Greatest Game Ever Played a few years ago, but I’ve appreciated his performances ever since. He plays the cocky 50s greaser type Mutt Williams, and his motorcycle lends itself to one of the more entertaining scenes in the film.

Cate Blanchett isn’t exactly the glowing beauty she sometimes portrays, but she’s definitely proven her versatility with her role as Bob Dylan in last year’s I’m Not There. She delivered a solid performance as the psychic Ukrainian Col. Dr. Irina Spalko. Her accent was even convincing, except that she still says Jones like a proper Englishwoman.

Crystal Skull boasts some of the best special effects and fight sequences I’ve seen in awhile, but I think that’s something we’ve all come to expect from Steven Spielberg. There are plenty of twists and turns, and I was surprised by the central plotline at first, but I guess it became a little predictable toward the end. Thank god, George Lucas only wrote the story and not the screenplay, so the dialogue rises above simple junior high jargon. The special effects in the Star Wars films may be amazing, but no amount of techy fluff can cover up a horrible script.

My favorite part of this whole series: Spielberg and Lucas have managed to make a stereotypically “geeky” profession like archaeology infinitely cool. If I had seen these films when I was younger and before I made my college/career decisions, I can see the young me fashioning myself into the female version of Indy, but I’m more than a little claustrophobic, so maybe not.

As with most sequel-capable films these days, the audience is left with the possibility of more adventures – no riding off into the sunset for Indy and his cohorts this time. I know that I’ll definitely make time to watch the first three films now. I’m sure they won’t be as wonder-filled as they would have been if I’d watched them when they were originally released, but I’m sure they’ll still be good entertainment for a few hours.