After “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” came out in 1989, Steven Spielberg & George Lucas went their separate ways developing projects. Mr. Spielberg directed the groundbreaking film that changed cinema forever “Jurassic Park.” He won Oscars for “Schnedler’s List” & “Saving Private Ryan.” Finished Stanley Kubrick’s pet project “A.I.: Artificial Intelligence,” Made other notable films “Minority Report,” “Catch Me If You Can,” “The Terminal,” “War of the Worlds” & “Munich.”
Mr. Lucas wrote episodes of “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.” A TV show centering on Indy’s early years. Penned the “Star Wars Prequel Trilogy” focusing on Anakin Skywalker origins on how he became a Jedi to becoming one of the most iconic villains of all time Darth Vader. Produced a computer animated movie and follow up series “The Clones Wars.” Steven & George reunite to work on the fourth installment of the Indiana Jones series known as “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”
Released in 2008, (same year Cloverfield came out) the fourth film received mixed to positive reviews from critics and movie goers alike. Despite divisive reactions, it became the highest-grossing film of the Indiana Jones series surpassing “Last Crusade.” Before Harrison Ford reprises his role as Indy in the fifth and final film “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” I wanna share my thoughts on Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”
It doesn’t matter if SPOILERS are listed. We’ve already seen all four films countless times. Either referenced or parodied in other works.
Shiny & Rusty Aspects
Shiny: Harrison Ford reprises his role as the titular character. He did an excellent job for his performance.
Cate Blanchett, Shia LaBeouf, Ray Winstone & John Hurt all did a decent job for their respective performances.
Karen Allen reprises her role as Indy’s love interest from the first film, Marion. Thank goodness, Kate Capshaw didn’t come back as Willie. She’s annoying as heck.
Jim Broadbent makes a brief appearance.
Action Sequences are pretty good. The Warehouse escape’s my favorite.
John Williams orchestrated the soundtrack.
Cinematography captures in-depth imagery. Makes you wanna go on an adventure with Indy.
Indy mentioned Mac worked with the MI6. Daniel Craig’s second James Bond film “Quantum of Solace” came out in ‘08.
Indy questions, “What was in the box?” Perhaps a “Seven” reference? Cate worked with Brad Pitt in “Babel” & “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.”
Spalko quotes Oppenheimer’s “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of words.” Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated biopic will be released on July 21st, 2023. A month after Dial of Destiny.
The Soviet spies crash the statue of Marcus Brody. Cashing his head to fall. A possible reference to that one Simpsons episode with Bart cuts the head of Jebediah Springfield.
A Wilhelm Scream is used when a college boy screams.
Henry & Marcus Brody’s absence are addressed. They died prior to the film. Sean Connery retired after he worked on his last film “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.” The lackluster comic book adaptation caused him to develop an intense dislike towards Hollywood blockbusters. It’s a bummer he never came back as Henry before he died. Denholm Elliott died in 1992. They made a statue of Brody in honor of his memory.
Unlike “Superman Returns,” Indy isn’t a deadbeat dad. Marion kept a secret from him that Mutt’s his son. Mr. Spielberg didn’t wanna repeat the main character has a daughter in “The Lost World: Jurassic Park.” So, he went with a son.
My favorite line from Indy is, “I’d cover my ears if I were you.”
Mac mentioned he’ll be richer than Howard Hughes. It’s funny because Cate was in “The Aviator.” Speaking of which, Leonardo DiCaprio appeared in two movies in ‘08. “Body of Lies” & “Revolutionary Road.”
Indy says, ‘“I’ve a bad feeling about this.” An obvious “Star Wars” reference.
Rusty: Steven Spielberg & George Lucas miscalculated the fourth movie.
David Koepp (Jurassic Park, Carlito’s Way, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man) wrote the script. He didn’t revise any material on elements from rejected scripts.
The infamous scene with Indy surviving a nuclear explosion inside a refrigerator wouldn’t work in real life. He would’ve died from radiation poisoning. George Lucas claims surviving a nuke is 50/50. It wasn’t Mr. Koepp’s idea on the fridge. Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile) came up with this preposterous scene from his rejected draft, “Indiana Jones and the City of the Gods.”
C.G.I. looks horrendously fake. Mutt & Spalko engage in a sword fight. Green Screen behind them looks like an “Uncharted” or “Tomb Raider” game. Next scene, Mutt swings with a group of C.G.I monkeys. This why I prefer Practial Effects and minimum. C.G.I.
Spalko’s death scene is lame. We’ve gone from face melting, eaten alive by crocodiles, drinking the wrong Holy Grail makes you age rapidly to fading.
The controversial twist involving aliens, do not belong in Indiana Jones. I was expecting humanoid gods. The series involves fantasy and supernatural elements, not science-fiction. No wonder Trey Parker & Matt Stone mocked Crystal Skull’s lame twist in the episode “The China Problem.”
The Final Verdict: C-
In my opinion, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is the biggest disappointment of 2008. I’m concerned about Dial of Destiny. It’s been earning mixed reviews. If you’re gearing up for Harrison Ford’s last hurrah as the character, rewatch all four films to relive the good moments and make fun of the dumb moments. Don’t forget to rewatch The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles on Disney Plus.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 