Lots of Fun, But…: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Review

Born as an homage to pulp serial films, the Indiana Jones franchise has always shrugged in the face of reality, opting instead for unadulterated entertainment. The films are exciting, funny, engrossing, and unbelievable, all at the same time, and to varying degrees. I recently returned to Raiders of the Lost Ark in preparation for the latest sequel and found myself enraptured again with a story that sets out to do one thing — entertain the audience — and does it perfectly. Perhaps the surprising thing about the popularity of the Indiana Jones series is its utter lack of social or philosophical commentary. Other popular stories such as Star Wars, The Matrix, or even Jurassic Park have tapped into mythical or ethical discussions that have shaped Western society. After watching Raiders again, I asked myself, what was the point, the deeper message of the film? Nazis are bad? If I ever come across an important Old Testament artifact, be careful? In the end, I had to shrug and admit I haven’t learned much of anything from this series, but I’ve had a great time anyway. Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Harrison Ford, and company just wanted to entertain and the Indiana Jones movies should probably be judged on the criterion of how well do they achieve that entertainment.

Thus we come to the sequel nineteen years in the making, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Indy and the world around him have aged. The Nazis are history and the Soviets are now the bad guys on the scene. I won’t describe much of the plot because it’s a classic case of the MacGuffin — everyone is looking for an item because that item is powerful. The Soviets want the item, the crystal skull of the title, for world domination and Indy wants it so that the Soviets can’t get it. Like the Ark of the Covenant, the Sankara Stones, or the Holy Grail before it, the crystal skull is an excuse to set up epic and hilarious chase sequences, booby-trapped ruins, and show Indy taking and giving punches that sound like howitzers firing. Indy’s older and there are enough appropriate jokes about this. His love-interest from the first film, Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) has returned, but that’s about it in terms of familiar faces. Indy’s father (Sean Connery) and friend Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott) have passed on. Instead we get a new set of characters such as Marion’s son Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf), Marcus’ replacement at the university Charles Stanforth (Jim Broadbent in an underused role), Indy’s underdeveloped sidekick Mac (Ray Winstone), and the new villain, the femme-fatale Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett, who looks like she’s having a lot of fun).

I was entertained by the film and at the same time must admit that it does have more in common with The Temple of Doom (still the weakest episode of the series) than it does with Raiders or The Last Crusade. Like Temple of Doom, The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull doesn’t seem as singularly focused on the search as the greater films do. The action is sillier to the point of garnering a few eye-rolls. All Indiana Jones films require a large amount of suspending disbelief, but The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull seemed to require more suspension than the first and third installments. Why is Mutt acting like Tarzan, or why does he possess the hardest crotch in the world outside of the Nutty Buddy? That is to say, it doesn’t work as well as Raiders or The Last Crusade. Indy is more of a professor here, and he’s much more vocal about his scholastic endeavors and beliefs, which are nice developments of his character. We have to, however, meet an entirely new supporting cast and I just couldn’t bring myself to caring about them as I did previous characters. Where’s Sallah when you need a familiar face? Also, I fear the filmmakers depended too much on the computer and not enough on live action. The first chase sequence between a car and motorcycle through a college town was amazing and fell in neatly with the greater car chases of the series. The second chase sequence through the rain forest showcased the computer graphics more than an Indiana Jones movie should. Half of the fun is sitting in the theater and shaking your head, amazed that they’re actually dragging Harrison Ford behind a moving truck. Shia LaBeouf straddling two vehicles whose movements are created by computers doesn’t engender similar awe.

The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull entertained me and that’s all I can really ask for, though I’m also left with the sense that it wasn’t a film demanding that it be made. It’s nice to see Indy again, but I don’t know if we needed him back.