Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (* * * *)

Well I was finally able to get out and see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull last night. I haven’t done a formal review on a movie in a while, so I thought this would be a good way to get back into the swing of things. I will spoil the movie if you haven’t seen it so, as always, beware. (Although there isn’t much to spoil, you can probably guess most of the movie from the title and trailer)

I gave Crystal Skull a 4 star rating. Had it not been because I am an Indiana Jones fan it probably would have only received 3 stars. A lot of people who loved the original films, as I do, would have probably graded this movie more harshly, but it actually made me want to like it more and probably because of that, I did. Now I do have to say that compared to the original films, this movie would rank at the bottom, but I tend to look at it completely separate and independent much like the way I separate the Harry Potter films and books, it’s just two completely different things. That being said, there is plenty of good and bad in this film.

As mentioned in the title the story revolves around the mysterious Crystal Skull. In this film, Indy is being chased by Russians as he attempts to help Mutt Williams find his Mother Marion who has been captured along with an old friend Professor Oxley. “Ox” as well as Indy have been searching for the Crystal Skull for years and are both intrigued by it. The Russians, who are interested in using the Crystal Skull for psychological warfare, are using Indy and his friend Mac to try and locate it. Mac makes a few changes of loyalty and eventually ends up on the team of the bad guys. But of course Indy and Mutt locate the Crystal Skull, Marion, and Ox and then spend the rest of the film being chased by the Russians in an attempt to return the skull to it’s intended resting place, a lost city of gold. There are a few twists and turns but they are mostly predictable (although not necessarily a bad thing). They eventually return the skull and save the day. You probably have already guessed that Marion happens to be the same Marion from Raiders of the Lost Ark (The Ark itself actually makes a cameo) and Mutt is Indy’s son. At the end of the film, Marion and Indy finally get married. I think this was supposed to surprise people both the son revelation and the wedding, but I doubt anyone was surprised by it. There are a few double crosses by Mac and some puzzles and clues to figure out, but it’s really a basic story with a lot of fun action sequences which is the heart of any Indiana Jones movie anyway.

Of course the music in the film is on par with the other films, it’s that familiar sound that everyone is used to, the sound effects are great (I just love the sound of the punches in the Indiana Jones movies) and the movie is really fun to watch. There is a lot of comic moments and just Spielbergian type sequences.

The acting is good, and to answer everyone’s question, yes Harrison Ford pulls it off. Indy is considerably and noticeably older, but they don’t try to hide it and it works out just fine. In fact it’s played up quite a bit, Mutt hassles Indy for being old and Indy himself makes mention of his age, it’s a little Lethal Weapon (I’m to old for this), but it’s funny. I thought that Shia Labouf was good in the film and played his role well. He is believable for the character in the settings that they are in. I think if he were to take over the franchise and do a few similar movies that he would be a good leading character. I know a lot of people don’t like him, but I think he’s a good young actor (check out Holes) and I haven’t seen a film of his that I haven’t enjoyed. Karen Allen returning as Marion Ravenwood was good and brought back the nostalgia of the old films. Cate Blanchett as the villain was a nice addition; she’s a good actress and plays the part well.

The action sequences are really fun and over the top. I would have expected nothing less for an Indiana Jones film with Spielberg at the helm. In fact there were a few times where I thought to myself that some of the scenes were just too much (Mutt swinging on vines like Tarzan) but then I remembered it was an Indiana Jones movie and everything was ok. The look of the film is really good as well; I believe that most of the stunts were real instead of CG, although there is a fair share of CG elements in the film. There are of course plenty of supernatural elements in the film and the first time that Indy has dealt with aliens. I think the sets and locations were really good and a lot of the traditional Indy elements were included, so it followed the formula pretty well.

The Bottom Line…I liked Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. With a 4 star rating I would recommend that anyone go and check it out. The movie was really fun to watch and had a ton of the traditional Indy elements; the action was cool and funny. The story was a little bit weak and my biggest complaint is that if comparing to the older films it didn’t quite have the same feel, of course I recommend that you view this independent from the others. The film is rated PG-13 for some action sequences with a little violence but there is absolutely no bad language or sex. There are some scary images, but nothing that would cause nightmares. It’s probably the most “family friendly” of all the Indy movies. If you like the Indy movies, give this one a chance, but go prepared for a different experience, if you find yourself comparing it to the older films, you will be let down. If you don’t like the originals, or haven’t seen them, it’s still a good stand alone movie from a great franchise. (And why haven’t you seen the originals?) Go check it out and let me know what you think in the comments.