Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Year: 2008
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Karen Allen, Cate Blanchett, Harrison Ford, John Hurt, Shia LaBeouf & Ray Winstone
Runtime: 122 mins
BBFC: 12
Published: 01/06/23
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Karen Allen, Cate Blanchett, Harrison Ford, John Hurt, Shia LaBeouf & Ray Winstone
Runtime: 122 mins
BBFC: 12
Published: 01/06/23
Following the completion of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 1989, George Lucas had apprehensions about being able to keep the franchise going. It was kept alive for a short time by The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, and after that wrapped Lucas had an idea about an Indiana Jones film inspired by sci-fi serials, but Spielberg and Harrison Ford hated it so it was scrapped and a fourth instalment was left languishing in development hell for a total of nineteen years. Turn the clocks forward to 2008 and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull arrives, written by Lucas, directed by Spielberg, and starring Ford in the title role once again…inspired by sci-fi serials. Suffice to say I think Spielberg and Ford were right the first time.
The year is 1957 and Henry Jones Jr. (Harrison Ford) has been captured by Soviet military forces, led by Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), to help them find a mysterious artefact in a top-secret location hidden in the Nevada desert.
What Jones and the Soviets find is believed to be not of this world. Left for dead by the Soviets and under careful watch from the FBI for aiding them, Jones is grounded.
That is until he is contacted by Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf) who fears for a mutual friend of theirs, Harold Oxley (John Hurt), who went insane after discovering a skull made of crystal. Putting two and two together, Jones realised that the Soviets are searching for advanced alien technology, and the skull is the key.
I remember going to see Kingdom of the Crystal Skull at the cinema and rewatching it for this review was the first time I had done so since that first viewing. I remember walking out of the film with two friends and all three of us being distinctly disappointed with it, even at twelve years old, I knew I felt cheated. This didn’t feel like Indiana Jones.
I look back on my disappointment and I think a lot of it stemmed from the sci-fi elements of the film, but now my issues lay with how those more mystical elements are handled in comparison to the other Indiana Jones films, as well as the general look and feel of the film.
The year is 1957 and Henry Jones Jr. (Harrison Ford) has been captured by Soviet military forces, led by Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), to help them find a mysterious artefact in a top-secret location hidden in the Nevada desert.
What Jones and the Soviets find is believed to be not of this world. Left for dead by the Soviets and under careful watch from the FBI for aiding them, Jones is grounded.
That is until he is contacted by Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf) who fears for a mutual friend of theirs, Harold Oxley (John Hurt), who went insane after discovering a skull made of crystal. Putting two and two together, Jones realised that the Soviets are searching for advanced alien technology, and the skull is the key.
I remember going to see Kingdom of the Crystal Skull at the cinema and rewatching it for this review was the first time I had done so since that first viewing. I remember walking out of the film with two friends and all three of us being distinctly disappointed with it, even at twelve years old, I knew I felt cheated. This didn’t feel like Indiana Jones.
I look back on my disappointment and I think a lot of it stemmed from the sci-fi elements of the film, but now my issues lay with how those more mystical elements are handled in comparison to the other Indiana Jones films, as well as the general look and feel of the film.
What I do like, for the most part, is the story. The opening is excellent, starting out with the race across the desert set to Elvis Presley’s ‘Hound Dog’, before introducing us to the heroes and villains of the story in a fun and thrilling action sequence.
Despite it having been twenty years since Ford last donned the iconic fedora and whip, he steps back into the character of Indiana Jones with such ease, and he even brings with him an air of refinement in his older age.
Whilst the infamous refrigerator scene is one of many scenes in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull that jump the shark in relation to things Jones can survive, it’s fun and it showcases Ford’s funny side so well.
From here we soon get thrust into a chase sequence after Jones meets Mutt for the first time, which is equally funny and exciting.
Once that’s over the film slows right down for quite a while as Jones and Mutt go treasure hunting and end up reunited with Oxley and Mutt’s mother, Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen). The return of Marion, last seen way back in Raiders of the Lost Ark, is both unexpected and kind of crowbarred in. It’s only made worse with the revelation that Mutt is in fact Henry Jones III, Indiana’s son. There’s only a short time gap between Raiders and Last Crusade, and whilst it’s not impossible that Jones could have settled down and almost married Marion as it’s revealed here, but it begs the question of why this wasn’t addressed in Last Crusade. Also, Marion seems to have met Henry Jones Sr. based on one conversation yet Connery’s Jones Sr. had supposedly not seen Ford’s Jones Jr. for at least a decade when they reunite in Last Crusade. It just seems kind of ham fisted and unnecessary, I think the idea was to have LaBeouf take on the mantle of a young Indiana Jones following this film but 1) that never happened so it makes all this seem even sillier; and 2) surely there could have been a more organic way to do this?
Anyway, after that horrendously slow thirty minutes we get another (mostly) great action sequence. This sees Jones, Marion, and Mutt moving up a Soviet convoy to get to Oxley and the skull. I say mostly great because Jones’ stuff is generally all great stuff, very reminiscent of a similar scene in Last Crusade, but with a jungle setting instead of a desert.
But it’s the iconically bad Mutt swinging through the trees with the monkeys that holds this scene back from greatness. It does end with a great climax with some carnivorous ants, and then a funny (if yet another jump the shark moment) where our heroes fall down some waterfalls.
Then comes the finale and really all I can say about this is that it didn’t misdirect in the way that Raiders or Last Crusade did with its mystical elements, and so Crystal Skull just opts for the east route and just shows us some aliens before they blast off into space. It’s really anticlimactic, and I feel it doesn’t tie in well with the mystery that had been building up.
Despite it having been twenty years since Ford last donned the iconic fedora and whip, he steps back into the character of Indiana Jones with such ease, and he even brings with him an air of refinement in his older age.
Whilst the infamous refrigerator scene is one of many scenes in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull that jump the shark in relation to things Jones can survive, it’s fun and it showcases Ford’s funny side so well.
From here we soon get thrust into a chase sequence after Jones meets Mutt for the first time, which is equally funny and exciting.
Once that’s over the film slows right down for quite a while as Jones and Mutt go treasure hunting and end up reunited with Oxley and Mutt’s mother, Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen). The return of Marion, last seen way back in Raiders of the Lost Ark, is both unexpected and kind of crowbarred in. It’s only made worse with the revelation that Mutt is in fact Henry Jones III, Indiana’s son. There’s only a short time gap between Raiders and Last Crusade, and whilst it’s not impossible that Jones could have settled down and almost married Marion as it’s revealed here, but it begs the question of why this wasn’t addressed in Last Crusade. Also, Marion seems to have met Henry Jones Sr. based on one conversation yet Connery’s Jones Sr. had supposedly not seen Ford’s Jones Jr. for at least a decade when they reunite in Last Crusade. It just seems kind of ham fisted and unnecessary, I think the idea was to have LaBeouf take on the mantle of a young Indiana Jones following this film but 1) that never happened so it makes all this seem even sillier; and 2) surely there could have been a more organic way to do this?
Anyway, after that horrendously slow thirty minutes we get another (mostly) great action sequence. This sees Jones, Marion, and Mutt moving up a Soviet convoy to get to Oxley and the skull. I say mostly great because Jones’ stuff is generally all great stuff, very reminiscent of a similar scene in Last Crusade, but with a jungle setting instead of a desert.
But it’s the iconically bad Mutt swinging through the trees with the monkeys that holds this scene back from greatness. It does end with a great climax with some carnivorous ants, and then a funny (if yet another jump the shark moment) where our heroes fall down some waterfalls.
Then comes the finale and really all I can say about this is that it didn’t misdirect in the way that Raiders or Last Crusade did with its mystical elements, and so Crystal Skull just opts for the east route and just shows us some aliens before they blast off into space. It’s really anticlimactic, and I feel it doesn’t tie in well with the mystery that had been building up.
Whilst Ford gives a great performance as Jones. Everyone else is kind of a misfire. Allen seems out of her depth almost, which is weird because she was great in Raiders. Hurt doesn’t really get to do an awful lot, and what little he does do is staring vacantly into the distance whilst spouting some riddle. LaBeouf is just generally not good, but I think some of that might be the character of Mutt being kind of annoying. Blanchett can’t hold her accent to save her life, and Ray Winstone’s double agent Mac is just so irritating and anytime he was on screen I audibly groaned.
The visuals were really washed out, as though the brightness was up too high. I think that this is a problem with a number of films around that time period, this was an aesthetic that was in for some reason, but regardless I hate it. Nothing pops out, and everything looks like a pale olive kind of colour.
But John Williams’ score is brilliant as always. Like Temple of Doom, one of the films only true redeeming features is the way it sounds.
The sci-fi isn’t the problem with Kingdom of then Crystal Skull, but the way it’s implemented is just one of many problems that together create a film that is hugely underwhelming. I do prefer it to Temple of Doom, but not by much. For me, it serves as proof that Indiana Jones was not as malleable as Lucas though it was, or it needed to be helmed by a different creative team entirely. Whilst it’s a pleasure to see Ford back in the role of Jones, little else about the film feels right.
If I catch it on TV on a bank holiday afternoon I probably wouldn’t change the channel, but I couldn’t recommend actively seeking the film out to anybody.
The visuals were really washed out, as though the brightness was up too high. I think that this is a problem with a number of films around that time period, this was an aesthetic that was in for some reason, but regardless I hate it. Nothing pops out, and everything looks like a pale olive kind of colour.
But John Williams’ score is brilliant as always. Like Temple of Doom, one of the films only true redeeming features is the way it sounds.
The sci-fi isn’t the problem with Kingdom of then Crystal Skull, but the way it’s implemented is just one of many problems that together create a film that is hugely underwhelming. I do prefer it to Temple of Doom, but not by much. For me, it serves as proof that Indiana Jones was not as malleable as Lucas though it was, or it needed to be helmed by a different creative team entirely. Whilst it’s a pleasure to see Ford back in the role of Jones, little else about the film feels right.
If I catch it on TV on a bank holiday afternoon I probably wouldn’t change the channel, but I couldn’t recommend actively seeking the film out to anybody.