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Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Ever since I saw that they were making a fourth Indiana Jones film I was excited. This excitement was increased every time I saw the poster, causing me to spontaneously launch into the Theme music. And the anticipation of another great film in the series was upheld by the actual viewing experience. Having said that, the film wasn’t quite as enjoyable as it could have been. It wasn’t that Indiana Jones was now 20 years older, Harrison Ford still managed to pull the role off. It wasn;t Shia Leboeuf as Mutt, as he already has a dodgy pedigree with movies like The Transformers to his name. No, It was the inclusion of aliens in an archeological action film. Honestly, if I wanted aliens, I would have watched X-Files.
The film revolves around Indiana Jones beating the Russians to find a crystal skull and return it to what is effectively El Dorado, although they call it something else in the film. The Russians take over the traditional villain role from the Nazi’s and weren’t a disappointment. After all, these are the cool “Cold War KGB” style Russians rather than the namby-pamby post USSR dissolution Russians. Cate Blanchett apologising for her Russian in the film was definitely needed. It may have been better to get an actress with some Eastern European ancestry, or at least one that looked good in the Rusiian uniform.
The stunts were what I’ve come to expect from Indiana Jones with the opening fight sequence in the warehouse at area 51 launching you into the movie. There is a particularly impressive swordfight/punchup involving leaping from car to car while speeding through the jungle. Of course, there is the obligatory snake scene, as we all know that Indy hates snakes. And while nobody melts in this movie, an entire valley disappears so it does kind of make up for it.
Dodginess
This film like all the other Indiana Jones movies ranks a five on the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man rating. There are a number of moments that in any other film would have been by far the dodgiest moment. The jungle car chase/fight scene, using a snake to pull Indy and Marianne out of a sink hole, even Indy surviving a nuclear blast by hiding in a lead-lined fridge are all stand out moments, however the climax of the film really takes the cake as far as dodginess is concerned. The aliens coming back to life once the skull is returned and opening an interdimensional portal, followed by a space ship coming out of the pyramid and flying off, while destroying the valley is truly the dodgiest moment in the film.
Rewatchability Rating
The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull only ranks a four on the rewatchability index. It would have been a five if not for the aliens. Knowing that the aliens are waiting will take a lot of the enjoyment out of rewatching this film. Although, at least if I’m watching it on DVD I can stop it before they appear.
Most Memorable Quote
While the Indiana Jones films generally have a number of great lines, they aren’t what you focus on watching it the first time. To be honest, the only line that really stuck with me was in the trailer as well, which probably caused it to lose most of its comedic impact in the film, but such is the price you pay. It’s still amusing though and comes out when Indy and Mac are surrounded by the Russians. “Put your hands down will you, you're embarrassing us.” Just the sort of cool, calm and collected Indy we’ve come to know and love.
Final Thoughts
In case you haven’t picked it up yet, I really didn’t like the aliens. Despite this, it was still an enjoyable film, and if you enjoyed any of the first three, you really should check it out.