Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
I know this review is a tad overdue. After all, the movie came out in 2008. But, the thing is, sometimes time brings clarity. Let me tread carefully here.I both hate and love this movie.
First, the positives: Harrison Ford still has the spark. The movie is fun, exciting, innovative, visually bright, and fairly well-intentioned. The story carries you along a roller coaster of bold plot points, sparing nothing. Riding a brisk wave of cartoonish action and lavish special effects, this movie has a feel like the latest ride at Disney World: imaginative, lavish, and expensive.
Here's the negative: The original magic of the Indiana Jones series is not present here. The original sense of adventure is drown in a giddy flood of cartoon absurdity. And, the story derails on the premise of...alien visitation? Yeah, aliens. To quote Indiana himself, when he learns of the aliens, he says, "You gotta be kidding me." I think he's on the same page as the audience. I respect the effort, it's full of fun twists and turns, and that's why I like it. However, it skews a bit too bizarre with the aliens. This has to be the meddling of George Lucas. Even the magic of having Harrison Ford back, in full Indiana form, was not enough to save this thing. And, I understand what they were trying to do with having Shia LaBeouf, but it's completely unnecessary. We get it. You want a younger audience. Or something. I'm not really sure what the motivation was for having Shia's character. I think Speilberg just likes the kid a lot and wanted to give him a spot.
The controversial:
Since I've had some time since seeing this movie, I went back and watched it again. It was better than I remembered, although it still doesn't hold a candle to the original three. But, it is still some quality entertainment. Just as the origianl Star Wars trilogy may be impossible to improve, that's how it is with Indiana. But, the controversial thing is, I actually really like this movie. It's great. Give it another chance.
my rating: 4 out of 5
Ok. I have to be careful here to control my rage about this movie. I LOVE the original Indiana Jones triology. I love everything about them. The adventure. The history. The heroism. The romance. The action. The subtle humor. EVERYTHING. There are so many fans out there like me. Before this movie came out, I waited for years for its release. I threw an Indiana Jones party on opening weekend. Seriously, I love Indiana Jones.
ReplyDeleteThis movie was a HUGE disappointment to me. They disrespected the fans and ruined the movie with the aliens and with the Shia Lebouf character, but mainly with the aliens. A true fan knows and loves the Indiana Jones movies for their connection to reality. For the twist on historical events that are just the right mixture of fact and legend. The audience is taken away on an adventure that is believable. I know that there are a few people (okay more than a few people) that believe that aliens exist, but most people don't. The other movies were based on religion, which is more believable. The aliens ruined the since of realism for me, which ruined the adventure.
About Shia Lebouf... The older movies were all about Indiana Jones' tough, rugged, man's man exterior with his slightly scared, what-am-I-going-to-do moments. The character is amazing. He appeals to everyone. People wish that they could be him, but can also imagine themselves being him or reacting the same way in certain situations. In the Crystal Skull, Harrison Ford could have definitely stood on his own. It was almost insulting to me that they felt that they needed to add a new male lead. I agree with Evan that George Lucas probably wanted to bring in a younger audience, but seriously? We did not need Shia Lebouf to do that. I have nothing against the young actor, but this movie did not need him.
Besides these major flaws, I liked that they brought back Karen Allen. I wasn't against Cate Blanchett as a new villian. I really liked the nuclear bomb scene. I also liked some of the stunts. I can appreciate that they tried to bring back many elements for the fans, but I just think that they missed the mark.
Just to clarify...when I was talking about religion in my comment, I said that "The other movies were based on religion, which is more believable." I meant to say that religion made the movies more believable. I definitely believe that Christianity is real and true.
ReplyDeleteWow. Awesome comment. I think it may be longer than my original blog post! But, I love it. That's what this site is about.
ReplyDeleteYes, this new Indiana was lacking a certain kind of romance that the originals had.
I agree that the original Indiana maintains a connection to reality. Hopefully the new Indiana that they're supposedly working on will live up to the originals. I think the filmmakers listen to what the fans say.