Review: ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’
Sitting in the darkened screening room at Paramount Pictures that early May day in 1981, I had no idea what I was about to experience. Working at Starlog at the time, I thought we were pretty much aware of everything cool that was coming from Hollywood. But we knew little about this thing called [[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]]. Then we watched it.
An homage to the action serials of the 1930s and 1940s, director Steven Spielberg and producer George Lucas combined their best skills to produce something iconic and fresh at the same time. They also did what has become increasingly difficult ever since – create an interesting character from scratch. Sure, Indy is one of a long line of adventurers dating back to Allan Quatermain if not further back, but still, he was new and cool.
Ever subsequent Indy film has been measured against the original and found wanting. I missed [[[Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull]]] when it opened in May so sat with the DVD, on sale today, and was curious to see what sort of experience this would be. After all, the buzz over the summer that while good, it was ultimately a disappointment after waiting so many years.
I was entertained. The movie wisely moved to the 1950s to reflect the passage of time and evoke an entirely new feeling. As a result, the Roswell setting, the Crystal Skull possibly being an alien, etc. was all appropriate as was the arrival of the Cold War nemesis, successors to the Nazis for storytelling fodder.
However, Spielberg and Lucas got too cute from the get-go with the Caddyshack-like gopher popping up as we began the story. While winks to those no longer with us, such as Marcus Brody were fine at Indy’s home, the statue’s head striking a blow was unnecessary. While immediately understanding the locale from John Williams’ evocative score, we didn’t need to see the Ark. Too many winks at the expense of good storytelling.
More should have been done to examine Indy at a point in his life when he was getting a little old of adventure and his life was filled with missed opportunities. Mutt being his son was telegraphed from the get-go and was totally without nuance. Marion arrives too late for my taste, trades quips but seems to accept the passage of time with a smile and far more forgiveness than she showed in the first film. Her spunk and edge, which made her extremely fascinating in Raiders was all scrubbed away, making her likeable and far less compelling. Thankfully, Karen Allen has aged as gracefully as Harrison Ford and they still have some great screen chemistry.
We know it’s hard out here for a pimp, but it might be even harder for War Machine.
And while War Machine is still set for the sequel, as THR indicates, it won’t be Howard behind the mask. Cheadle is certainly a fine actor, and you can hardly ask for a better quality replacement for an actor of Howard’s pedigree. Nonetheless, it’s disappointing for fans enjoying Marvel’s continuity that a casting change has taken place so soon.
I guess we’ll have to get our superhero fixes from comic books for a while, though I’m not complaining, because isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be? My glances through the various newspapers and magazines that come to this house tell me that there are no superhero movies coming to a theater near me, and the closest thing to a new superhero on television is those can-do wheels on Knight Rider, whose ancestor is the Batman utility belt of the middle-period comics and the early Green Arrow quiver; whatever the situation calls for…well, here it is – just the thing. Some of last season’s superdoers are back, and some of them will be on our living room screen, though the plot(s) of one seem to be unfocused and the future of another, The Sarah Conner Chronicles, seems to be iffy, which saddens me because one of the stars makes my dirty old man merit badge pulsate.
Torchwood Magazine
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