INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL

 

With the new Indiana Jones movie coming out at the end of this month, I've decided to write a few Indy-centric posts this June. Today I'll be looking at what is probably the most controversial Indy film--a movie that still gets fans going on the internet 15 years after its release. 

I saw INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL during its opening weekend back in May 2008. At the end of the movie, I just sat there and thought, "Well...." I was trying to be positive, and think what I liked about it, but honestly, nothing really stood out. It wasn't great, but it wasn't horrible....it was kind of, okay. And maybe that's the biggest problem that CRYSTAL SKULL has--it's merely okay, when it is an INDIANA JONES movie, directed by Spielberg, produced by Lucas. I expected something more. After a few days thinking about it, I came to the conclusion that it probably didn't even need to be made in the first place. 

I purchased the film when it came out on DVD, but until I re-watched it last night, I hadn't seen it in years. I usually watch RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK at least once a year--as a matter of fact I viewed it again a few weeks ago--and I re-watch the other Indy films about every other year. But I've never felt the need to watch CRYSTAL SKULL on a regular or even a semi-regular basis. 

Watching it again didn't change my original feelings about it. It's not as terrible as some make out, it's a decent two hours of entertainment, but....there's something lacking in it. It seems to be lacking....tension? A sense of danger? My great friend, Joshua Kennedy of Gooey Films, says it lacks grit. 

One thing that needs to be discussed is George Lucas' original intentions for the film. According to J.W. Rinzler's wonderful book THE COMPLETE MAKING OF INDIANA JONES, Lucas envisaged the story to be a throwback to the many low-budget sci fi flicks he remembered from the 1950s. Lucas was also very adamant that aliens be somehow incorporated into the screenplay. 

The alien element didn't sit too well with Steven Spielberg, who of course had already gone down that road a number of times before in his directorial career. Harrison Ford also had plenty of doubts about Lucas' story concepts, and for these reasons it took a while to get everyone on board for what became CRYSTAL SKULL. 

When you watch CRYSTAL SKULL, you kind of get the sense that Spielberg and Ford were not all that excited to do it. It's not like those talented men phoned it in--far from it--but there doesn't seem to be the same kind of excitement and adventure that is found in the other Indy films. 

I think one reason CRYSTAL SKULL is lacking is that the main quest is not driven by Indy himself. He's sort of roped into a plot that involves aliens, international espionage, the search for El Dorado, hive minds, other dimensions, etc. The other Indy films had a clear, concise storyline. CRYSTAL SKULL has a more scattershot approach, and the script also has to give Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, and Shia LaBeouf things to do. 

As for Shia LaBeouf....he's not as grating as I originally thought him to be, but honestly the whole Indy meeting up again with Marion and finding out he has a son subplot could have been easily written out of the picture without all that much effect on the main story. The big problem with LeBeouf is that the movie tries too hard to present him as a cool bad boy, when he really isn't. (It's the audience that really decides whether a character is cool, not the filmmakers.) It doesn't help that LeBeouf is given things to do like swing Tarzan-like through the Amazon jungle with a bunch of CGI monkeys, or engage in a sword duel with Cate Blanchett's villain (a leather-jacketed American teenager with an attitude knows proper fencing techniques??). I personally think that bringing Karen Allen back was just a form of fan service. 

The action sequences in CRYSTAL SKULL are well done--you certainly wouldn't expect anything less in a Spielberg/Lucas collaboration. But they all have the 21st Century cinema mentality of lasting just a bit too long, and constantly trying to top themselves. A case in point is the opening sequence, which lasts 20 minutes, and is topped off by the now infamous nuclear blast, which as we all know features Indy's use of a certain kitchen appliance. How in the heck do you follow up a nuclear bomb going off? 

One thing I noticed during my re-watch was how many blatant 1950s references are in CRYSTAL SKULL, especially during the early part of the film. The other Indy movies were set in the 1930s, but they never tried to overwhelm you with it. CRYSTAL SKULL drops so many Fifties culture points that I'm surprised Lucy Ricardo didn't show up. The only thing I can think of is that the filmmakers were afraid that the audience wouldn't pick up on the fact that the story is set in 1957, so they made darn sure that they would know. The whole Red Scare subplot feels uncomfortable here--I don't think a franchise like Indiana Jones should be getting into the political weeds. (Unfortunately I've got a feeling the new Indy film will be doing plenty of that.) 

At the time a big deal was made about Cate Blanchett being the main villain in CRYSTAL SKULL, but her Russian agent feels underdeveloped (a plot device about her character supposedly having special ESP abilities goes nowhere). The same can also be said for the roles played by Ray Winstone and John Hurt. It makes one wonder whether Lucasfilm was more worried about getting more notable names than usual in an Indy film instead of creating more interesting characters. (John Rhys-Davies as Sallah is sorely missed here--and besides, wouldn't have Sallah been at Indy's wedding no matter what??) 

Did I really enjoy anything about CRYSTAL SKULL? Well, despite the fact that Harrison Ford hadn't played the character in a feature film for 19 years, he fits back in the role perfectly. And when Indy is talking to Mutt about an encounter with Pancho Villa, he's actually referencing an episode of THE YOUNG INDIANA JONES CHRONICLES. 

In a way CRYSTAL SKULL is a lot like THE PHANTOM MENACE. Both films had incredibly high expectations, and they were never going to live up to them. 

Remember how earlier in this post I mentioned how George Lucas wanted CRYSTAL SKULL to be like a 1950s B science-fiction movie? Consider this for a moment. If the script for CRYSTAL SKULL had been cut down to about 80 minutes, and the Marion-Mutt subplot had been eliminated, and if it had been made in black & white, and with a lot lower budget....I honestly believed it would have worked. Because when it comes right down to it, CRYSTAL SKULL is essentially a goofy 1950s sci fi movie. 

Now I'm sure there are those who are reading this that are thinking, "You're crazy! There's no way an entry for a major franchise like Indiana Jones would be made on the cheap and in black & white!!" You're right of course. Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford would have never agreed to participate in such an idea (although I think Spielberg might have taken it on as a challenge). My point is, when you take something that is a low budget sci fi idea and blow it up to gargantuan proportions, the weaknesses in it are going to be more noticeable. In the end CRYSTAL SKULL is just a mediocre Indiana Jones entry. 

Later this month I'll be examining the YOUNG INDIANA JONES CHRONICLES TV series.