Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the
Crystal Skull
Review
by Anthony Morris
More Indiana Jones: The Temple of Indiana
The
number one thing to remember when going into this film (even above the
fact that Harrison Ford is a stunt-prohibitive 65 years old) is that
it's the fourth in the series.
And it's the fourth in a
series of films that are basically reworking the old cliffhanger movies
serials of the 30's and 40s, which means that the narrative energy that
the first Indiana Jones
film fed off so strongly has pretty much run
dry by now.
And the somewhat erratic story reflects that: we start with
Indy dragged by a bunch of evil commies led by Colonel-Doctor Irina
Spalko (Cate Blanchett) to Area 51 to search for alien remains in a
very familiar warehouse, and before you know it there's gun battles,
car chases, rocket sleds and an atomic bomb going off.
It's a
rip-roaring start but it doesn't have much to do with the plot, and
neither does a bunch of scenes set around Indy's day job as an
university professor - even when the commies return just as the son
(Shia LeBeouf) of one of Indy's old friends turns up to ask for his
help.
Soon they're off to South America for a bunch of puzzle
solving and tomb raiding, then there's more commies and car chases and
jungle action and by the time the alien stuff becomes relevant again
it's all starting to feel like a bit of a muddle.
The good
news is, once you accept the series' limitations there's a lot about
this film that works just fine. For one, producer George
Lucas and director Steven Spielberg do a pretty decent job of keeping
Indiana Jones from turning into just another generic action
hero.
He's still an explorer who just happens to have lots of
exciting adventures, the humour is still there and (mostly) it works,
and for the most part the action is still fun to watch. The
performances are also good, though Ray Winstone has a thankless role
and John Hurt doesn't really get much to do either. But
there's a fuzziness around Indiana's role this time around - well
before the climax he's stopped being the solo star of the show, and
while the group focus fits in with Spielberg's current obsessions it
doesn't make for a good Indiana
Jones movie.
The result is fun but
flawed; keep your expectations closer to Temple of Doom than
Raiders
of
the Lost Ark and you won't leave disappointed.
3.5 out
of 5
Indiana
Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Australian release: 22nd May, 2008
Official Site: Indiana
Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Cast:
Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Cate Blanchett, Shia LaBeouf
Director: Steven Spielberg
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