Indiana Jones & The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull : Official Soundtrack (2008)

By Sean Lynch
Movie Review: Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

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With the hype surrounding the first Indiana Jones film in last twenty years slowly settling, we thought there was no better time to take a look at one of the driving forces behind the success of this Hollywood icon

.... THAT theme song!

I make no excuses that one of my favourite albums in the vast CD collection assembled in my room is the Hans Zimmer's score from Gladiator.

It's not "Indie-Cool", it's not even "Movie-Nerd-Cool", but bugger me if it isn't one of the most enjoyable albums going around.

If I recall correctly, it was Danny Elfman's score to Batman in 1989 which started the legitimacy of releasing the musical score from a movie (no - I'm not talking about a "Soundtrack" which has pop songs "Inspired By And From" the film) and since then I'm hard pressed to find a movie which has delivered a score (or memorable theme tune in the vein of Indy, Superman  or Batman) which even came close to warranting a purchase.

So while this latest release from veteran John Williams (who created the Hum-tastic themes to Jaws, Superman, Indiana Jones, Star Wars to name a few) isn't an unveiling of a new classic - it's still bloody good!

However, just like Spielberg was under immense pressure not to mess with a classic - yet make it feel fresh and new - Williams faces the same issue with Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

So the inclusion of the infamous Raiders March at the head of this album is a sure fire winner. But at the same time, it kind of ruins everything that follows it.

There isn't a single piece of music here which trumps the "Duh, Dudda Dah, Duh, Dudda", which is why Williams has delivered a master stroke of genius by slipping in hints of Raiders March into the flatter spots. It's brilliant - and amazingly - creates excitement.

Not an easy task at all!

The alien element (one of the most criticised elements of the new film) is well represented, with the haunting melody a not-to-distant cousin of the musical notes made famous in Speilberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Listen carefully - it's there.

Nothing startling original - but lets face it - the whole point of listening to it is to relive the adventure of the film. And there is nothing more fun than throwing this on in the car, turning the stereo up loud and driving like a maniac, living out the Indy fantasy while humming that unforgettable theme tune.

RATING: 3 out of 5

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