Set in 1957 (twenty odd years after Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade)
the latest installment kicks off at a ferocious pace, getting straight
back into the sort of action which has been indented into the
pop-culture psyche associated with Indy.
And it isn't long before
Indiana Jones is thrust back into the thick of it, venturing into the
jungles of South America in a race against Soviet agents to find the
mystical Crystal Skull.
There
is simply no escaping the pure enjoyment of the first hour or so of
this film. It holds true to every tradition of the Indiana Jones : wit,
action, real-life stunts, plot.
Ford slips back into the character with
ease (if not slightly grumpier), newcomers Cate Blanchett (as an evil Russian villain) and Shia
LaBeouf (as young greaser Henry "Mutt" Williams) are immediately in
sync with the Indiana
Jones style (with the right mix of cheesy B-Grade
Action serial and tongue in cheek humour) and most importantly - the
stunts are good ol' fashioned STUNTS!
There is just so much to like about Crystal
Skull (I
caught myself with an embarrassingly huge childish grin on my face on
more than one occasion... and that was each of the four times I saw it while it was still showing on the big screen),
which is a real achievement when you consider the uphill battle against
anticipation a film like this was always going to face from
fans.
And
for the first two thirds of the flick, Spielberg almost makes you
believe he is going to achieve what Lucas never did with his re-booted Stars Wars trilogy:
consistency with the source material.
But,
just after the halfway mark, it seems like Spielberg went home and
Lucas snuck onto the set to film the final few scenes without anyone
knowing - because Crystal
Skull goes pear-shaped.
And
it's a really obvious change as well; the action is taken away
from reality and thrust in front of the blue screen.
The sole element
(besides Ford) which differentiated the series from the slew of
heartless CGI rip-offs like National Treasure
and The Mummy
franchises, was that the action felt real... because it was
real. Real sets, real stunts, real grit. But towards the end
of
the film the over the top action CGI sequences are forced upon the
audience with such volume they ultimately lose all meaning and impact.
Much like the problems that plagued Die Hard 4.0,
it seems like everyone involved seemingly forgot the reason why these
films worked in the first place - the simple reality of it all.
Anyone
who thought John McClane leaping from a jet plane onto a crumbling
freeway and killing a helicopter with a car was a "Jumping the Shark"
moment for that franchise... you ain't seen nothing yet (without giving
to much away... Atom Bomb. Fridge. Waterfalls. Tarzan swing. Spaceship).
The CGI really wouldn't be a problem had the first half of the film not
been so perfect,
because if it were all on par with National Treasure
you could easily just throw it out as a bad movie.
But the sad fact is the majority of Crystal Skulls is a
really really
great movie, which makes the final product all the more frustrating
because we know what it could...
and should...
have been.
None
the less, it's still a great flick - full of iconic imagery (look out
for the 'hero' shots of Shia LaBeouf's Mutt Williams character, which
Spielberg has obviously created to exist on par with that of Indiana
himself) and good old fashioned adventure.
It certainly helps that the third instalment of The Mummy sucked rhino nads, if only because we can actually say "But Indy 4 was so much better".... and after Crystal Skulls initial theatrical run - I never thought I'd hear myself say that!
There
is already talk of another one (and why not, this one made over $770
million worldwide), although by all reports the idea Lucas has come up
with is "crazy". So who knows where this adventure might end.
But until then, I'm excited - so bring on Indiana Jones and The Quest For George Lucas' Credibility! DVD EXTRAS
Paramount have had a field day in 2008. There is barely a single
theatrical release of theirs that hasn't hit the $100 million mark (Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Tropic Thunder, Indiana Jones, Kung Fu Panda) - and it's great to see that they are capitalising on that by offering up such a wide range of cool extras and packaging.
I'm
a nerd for packaging, and while there is no one who has yet beat the
release of the Optimus Prime transforming DVD case (although, the Iron Man
helmet that is currently on shelves is pretty ace balls) I'm somewhat
surprised at how low-key the packaging for this title is. Sure, there
is the odd "Special Tin Case" floating around, as well as an edition
which comes with a mini skull... but where is the DVD cover wrapped in
a leather jacket? Where is the DVD stored inside a replica Crystal Skull?
The mind boggles.
The
nerd in me aside, there are a stupid amount of extras on offer here
which are magnificent when teamed up with the bounty of Behind The
Scenes extras found on the Box Set released earlier in the year.
There
are a bunch of Featurettes (many of them were availible to watch online
prior the films release) which go into the technological side of the
film making process - but also traverse the more enjoyable terrain of
the Indiana Jone mythology.
No commentaries on here from either
the writer, director or stars... but you kind of get the feeling that
there will be a "Special Edition of the Special Edition" set to hit
stores in six months time which will have all the things that are
missing from this release.
It's a cruel economic game - but one that we all love to play!
Conclusion:
Movie 70% Extras: 80%
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