Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
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Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is the fourth instalment in the Indy series. The movie once again brings together the three biggies, Harrison Ford, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas who gave us the first three thrilling movies and are now back together after 19 years for the fourth flick.
The movie, which is set in 1957, revolves around how Indiana Jones and Mutt evade the ruthless Soviets, follow an adventurous trail of mystery, fight with enemies and sometimes, even friends, to stop the powerful Crystal Skull from falling into the wrong hands.
The movie begins with Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) being captured by the Soviets. They take him and his assistant Mac (Ray Winstone) to a warehouse (remember Raiders of the Lost Ark?) to hunt for some artifacts. But Indian Jones as usual escapes from their clutches. But this adventure negatively affects his job in the Marshall College. He is forced to quit his job as a professor. During this time, he hears about the disappearance of his colleague Oxley (John Hurt). Oxley was searching for one of the most spectacular archeological finds in history — the Crystal Skull of Akator, a legendary object of fascination, superstition and fear.
Indy then joins forces with rebellious young Mutt (Shia LaBeouf), who believes he knows the whereabouts of the skull. So the duo sets out for the most remote corners of Peru to find the skull. But they are not the only ones in this land of ancient tombs, forgotten explorers and a rumoured city of gold. Also interested in this crystal skull are Soviet agents. The agents are headed by an icy cold, devastatingly beautiful Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett). She, along with her military unit, is searching the globe for the fascinating Crystal Skull. The agents believe that with the skull and its secrets, they would be able to dominate the world.
The action sequences in the movie are simply spectacular and bring back memories of Raiders of the Last Ark. Harrison Ford, despite his age, brings to Indy the same vigour and power that he did almost two decades ago. The actor has completely immersed himself in the role and it is impossible to imagine any one else in the role. As the chief Dr. Spalko, Cate Blanchett is her sexiest and scariest best. Shia as Mutt is very good and proves a worthy accomplice to Indy’s adventures.
John Hurt and Ray Winstone play their parts well. And, of course, there is Karen Allen who returns as Marion, Indian Jones’ love interest. Age has not affected her energy and vigour and it is great to see her again.
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The latest Indiana Jones is a good movie, however it was spoilt for me in that the plot finale seemed to have been “borrowed” from an old episode of the X files
The exposition is always more interesting than the action: that reviewers think the opposite shows how dumbed down the world is becoming.
Action is the ’same old, same old’ and can be found anywhere in any B-grade film.
This new Indiana Jones film has a few flaws (suspension of disbelief for the fridge and the waterfall is near impossible) but it beats the pants off everything else that has been coming out in recent times.
Sorry, but after reading all this negative comments, I like to give you my thoughts on this. When I walked out of the movie I was not really satisfied, because some things bothers me, like the monkey-rope scene and some other ridiculous and illogical things. But, then I remembered scenes from the first three movies, like jumping out of a plane with a rubber boat and then bob run with it down the Himalaya. Or Indy hanging on top of submarine and then swims with it through half of the ocean (isn’t such a thing going underwater sometimes?). Well, what I want to say is that in the old Indy films there where tons of ridiculous stunts and it always was very cartoonish and yes, often cheesy. But as I child I liked those movies for that. They are just adventures with a lot of action, mystic and fun, not more.
Speaking of Karen Allen, I wrote an unsolicited script for a Starman sequel back in 1998. It was my first script and I quit college to finish it. It’s been gathering dust ever since. I sent it to Jeff Bridges and John carpenter, although I would prefer if Carpenter didn’t direct a sequel. I wrote some good f/x sequences and some interesting characters. I’m pretty sure I’ll never be involved, but I’d to see the f/x scene from the beach being incorporated, (Jeff’s manager Neil will know the one, totally plagiarised from another movie, but it would look great on film today). If anyone has any questions, email me at hansenfilm@yahoo.ie and I’ll answer them. (Although I won’t give away any plot points. And yes there is a son and indeed, I actually have the perfect casting suggestion!!