Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
I saw Indy 4 opening night, but what with my busy, metropolitan lifestyle I haven't been able to talk about it until...now.
It's a good movie. Good. Not great. Not amazing. Go see it, but please take caution with your haste to travel to the theater to avoid untoward accidents. This is no perfect movie by any stretch of the imagination. But it's got Harrison Ford and he is Professor Henry Jones, Jr. This much is certain.
The story and screenplay were co-written by George Lucas and it has his fingerprints all over it. Not necessarily in a bad way like the Star Wars prequel movies. Because of the time between this movie and the previous installment, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, it's pretty unrealistic to expect that time hasn't passed in the life of the world's favorite archaeologist and explorer. So this film takes place well after World War II in 1957 and takes on nearly all the trappings of the late 1950s. Now the plot has Indy in search of the lost city of El Dorado mixed in with aliens, mind control plots and in lieu of Nazis our esteemed Dr. Jones is now at odds with Cold War era Communists.
There is a skull. It is crystal indeed, and is the key to the plot and the catalyst for the back and forth chase scenes and action. Action that for the most part is a thrill to watch, but some of it is a touch improbable. Specifically an early scene involving a refrigerator used for shelter, a jungle scene with vine swinging a-la Tarzan and what seems to be a slight by-the-numbers scene where we need to remember that still after all these years, Indiana Jones does not like snakes where not to reveal anything, but apparently in his panic, Indy forgot that he has his whip at his side to use as an alternative to escape his situation.
Of course the situation resolves itself fairly satisfactorily if not in a sudden science fiction style. My only wish that since it takes place in the 1950s that the movie embraced the movie clichés of the era more than they did. If they're going to use the sci-fi element then really go for it. Instead of Indy going up against a swarm of red ants, how about Indy vs. the giant ants of THEM! instead? Or something along those lines... The story action seems to move at almost too much of a breakneck pace with story ideas mentioned and then dropped in rapid fire succession in an attempt to squeeze in a ton of information and backstory for at least some sort of picture of what went on between Crusade and the start of Skull.
But we've got in the end a fairly successful picture and hopefully a very true final chapter for Indy. There is a fairly pleasing ending with what almost became an "Oh, no they won't!" moment that is saved by Indy at the last second. But this really should be the wrap up of the Indiana Jones story. The year 1957 is just about as recent as they can set the story and keep Jones in an era that while is a very paranoid time for the United States was at least a slightly more innocent time than say the mid-1960s, and who would want to go to a movie called "Indiana Jones and the Search for Haight-Ashbury" anyway?
Ending it here for Dr. Jones in 1957 is pretty fitting as well. The day of the radio show and movie serial, the inspiration for the original Raiders of the Lost Ark, was rapidly winding down. In this year in the real world, the 5th James Bond book, From Russia With Love, had already been published and in a short 5 years later the first Bond movie, Dr. No would be released in 1962, ushering in a new type of hero - the superspy. Indy, while we all love him dearly would certainly not work in the 1960s, and honestly, barely worked in 1957. There is one scene, again early on right after the refrigerator incident that underscores this with a bang. The world around him was changing rapidly and he stands as an icon from a different era.
Indiana Jones deserves his retirement now and we can all look back with affection for the character and put the archetype into the context of the era of which he's placed. It's not the best of the series, but Harrison Ford still sells the audience on his being Indiana Jones, and sometimes that's all that matters. The man with the hat and the whip is back on the big screen and it's only polite to see him off with the respect he deserves.
Labels: Indiana Jones, James Bond, Movies
posted by Brian Huberd @ 8:54 PM
