Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Having been born in the early 80’s, like so many others in my generation, I grew up watching the Indiana Jones series. So of course I was both excited and a little concerned with Spielberg and Lucas reviving the series almost 20 years later, considering they are notorious for changing their previous masterpieces for the worse. However, after viewing the film, this Memorial Day weekend, my concerns were calmed and my excitement was satisfied. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a film that holds up to the high adventure standards of the first three.
One of my biggest concerns, going into this film, was Ford’s age being too much of an obstacle to overcome and we wouldn’t see the whip swinging, snake fearing, hero that we have come to love. Yet, despite Harrison Ford being in his mid 60’s, he proves not only can he act as suave as ever, he can still kick some bad guy ass as well. This can also be said for Karen Allen, who revives her role as Marion Ravenwood, from the first installment. As in Raiders, Marion is not afraid to jump right into action and drive a car at tremendous speeds through the jungle to do what needs to be done.
Just as in other films, the supporting roles were played wonderfully. Shia LaBeouf plays an overconfident, hair obsessed, greaser with relative ease, but then again it has to be hard to screw up that stereotype. The two supporting roles that stood out the most were played by two actors, whose combined talent proves that they are worthy to be in an Indiana Jones film. John Hurt plays “Ox”, an old friend of Indy’s, who has gone mad after discovering the Crystal Skull. His portrayal of a madman is one of the best I have ever seen in an adventure film. However, it was Kate Blanchett’s role as the psychic Russian villain which is most notable. She proves women can be just as evil and villainous as men and can hold a great challenge to even Dr. Jones himself.
One of my first thoughts, finishing the film, was that it was some what hoakey and extremely unbelievable. Yet, after pondering this for a minute, I remembered so were the first three. Like the others, it was full of cheesy one-liners, completely outlandish near death situations, and had a level of supernaturalism that no real archeologist would ever encounter, but that is what made it so great. This installment is just as fantastical as the first three. Rather than dealing with religious mysticism; Crystal SkullΒΈ takes a crack at science fiction, capitalizing on the era of the Roswell NM incident and the atomic age in which the film takes place. This offers Spielberg a chance to let loose and work in a genre he is great at portraying.
With this being one of the most hyped films of the summer, I can assure you that you will not be disappointed, whether you are a crazed Indy fan or not. It keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time and revives those magical times you had watching Indy when you were younger. Only this time, now that my mom won’t be around, I am going to have a hard time restraining myself from buying a bullwhip and acting out the movie, like I wanted to as a kid.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Agree or disagree? Leave a comment and let me know what you think.
Technorati Tags: Indiana Jones, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Harisson Ford, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Karren Allen, Kate Blanchett, Shia LaBeouf, John Hurt, Action, Adventure, Blockbuster, Review
Regarding mood and tone, Darbont’s adaptation hold true to the novella, although, there were a few liberties taken with the plot. The love story, which appeared in the novella, was cut from the film altogether. This was a great decision on Darabont’s part. Any love story taking place would have taken away from the suspense of the film. Yet, the big change came with the conclusion of the film, an ending that King, himself, was impressed by. King is quoted as saying, “Frank wrote a new ending that I loved. It is the most shocking ending ever and there should be a law passed stating that anybody who reveals the last 5 minutes of this film should be hung from their neck until dead,”. I couldn’t agree with King more, not only did I not see that ending coming, it was so intense that I was speechless for a good 5 minutes after witnessing it.
