I've waited an eternity for everyone's favorite archaeologist to swing back into theaters with a new adventure to take us on. Indiana Jones is quite possibly one of the most well known figures in film history and for good reason. Steven Spielberg and George Lucas constructed one of the greatest cinematic roller coasters ever with Raiders of The Lost Ark. While the subsequent installments, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, are not the perfection we saw with Raiders, they're very solid action films in their own right. Why else would people still be hungry for another wild ride 19 years after the last film?!?!
Indiana Jones was such a central figure to so many of us who grew up in the 80's. As a child, me and countless boys (and some girls) around the country all wanted to outrun a giant boulder, swing across a snake pit with a bull whip (I used a rope and there was no pit of snakes) and run through the woods looking for buried treasure. The treasure was usually an empty bottle of booze or a other discarded item But for us it was a sacred idol from some lost civilization.
Enter Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the
latest installment starring none other than Harrison Ford reprising his role as Indy. We open up with Russian soldiers, disguised as American soldiers, making their way to the infamous Area 51 out in the Nevada desert. After gunning down the real American soldiers at the checkpoint, they move in and get down to business. First they need Indy to search a warehouse located in Area 51 for a very special artifact that the Russians want. And Indy they have, in the trunk of their car. The Russians are lead by a foxy KGB psychic named Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchette) who carries a pretty mean rapier and isn't afraid to use it.Those of you who are Indiana Jones "fanboys" should pay close attention to the shot of the warehouse they enter and the music that's played. Remind you of anything? You'll get a kick out of it, trust me. Through Indy's inventiveness, he's able to find the artifact because it possess powerful magnetic properties and is constructed of material that's not of this world. In these scenes, were given our first round of chases, explosions and mayhem that we've come to love in these films. We later learn that the FBI is suspicious of Indy's involvement with the KGB but it wasn't his doing. Quite the contrary. It was his double crossing partner Mac (Ray Winstone) who did for the money.
Because this is 1957 and the height of the Red Scare, Indy is forced to resign from his job as a professor. It's then that he runs into a young man named Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf) who has a urgent message to give to Indy. His mother has been kidnapped and a colleague of Indy's named Ox (John Hurt) is missing. Please Indy, you gotta save them!! And he will, but not before a high speed chase through New Haven (my back yard ) on Mutt's motorcycle with nasty KGB agents trying to kill them. It was great to see New Haven featured prominently here, but the action then moves to South America. Remember, we must find Mutt's mother and Ox, who has left a strange message that will lead Indy to the crystal skull. And find it he does which leads to more chases with Indy and the Russians, more double crossing from his former friend Mac, Ox speaking in Mayan tongues and a reuniting with Mutt's mother. Again, those of you who have seen the prior Indy films know full well who Mutt's mother is which means Indy and Mutt are more than just passing acquaintances. Believe me, I'm not giving away much here. You'll figure it out from the previews.
Now the usual staples of your typical Indy flick are here. You've got mutant bugs, snakes, dangerous jungles, angry natives with war paint and blow guns and some new things like flying saucers and an atomic blast. As far as summer films go, this will keep the casual film goer entertained. However, those who are long standing Indy fans may find this the weakest of the series. The action sequences are not very innovative and seem repetitive. An example, a chase ensues, Indy leaps onto the villain's car and is able to knock 5 men senseless. Granted this happened in prior films but it was done in a more clever and plausible fashion. Here he just jumps into a pile of heavily armed Russian soldiers and it doesn't look very convincing. I know you're not supposed to "think" with these kind of films but as the action went on , I sort of got disengaged. Why? Because I felt as if I've seen it all before. And I did, just a few minutes back into the film!!! Pacing is an issue as the film feels uneven and comes to a dead stop a quarter of the way through.
Everything also feels a bit flat with moments of electricity that hearken back to the glory days but it just doesn't seem to be there when you need it. There's also a pattern of having an elaborate stunt and then have the characters chime in with humor that feels a bit forced. It's thrown in there as if to get you to forget about just how shaky that last action scene might have been. This combo also grew thin for me as the film went on. I could just see it coming and when I can see it, it's not fun for me. The CGI, more often than not, looks pretty shaky which is a shock considering how Lucas and Spielberg are pioneers in special effects wizardry. Watch the sword fight between Mutt and Irina on the back 2 trucks racing side by side. It looks well enough......for a video game. Even the John Williams music score is throwaway and only gets good when the familiar Raiders March kicks in.As for Harrison Ford and his age, I say he still looks pretty fit for the gig at 65. Kudos to him.
The bottom line here is that Indiana Jones is good summer action film but by no means a great one. Aside from nostalgia, there's nothing that really sets it apart from the pack. For this reason I'm disappointed. I wanted to leave the theater feeling like I've been taken along on this adventure, my cloths should have been in tatters. But no such luck with this.
A final note, and I don't want to give away too much, but guys like Indy shouldn't be domesticated. Their mistress is the adventure and this is the mistress that Indy types will always go back to.
Coming Up: The Proposal
and
The Myth of Equity.
