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19
years after he rode off into the sunset at the conclusion of Indiana
Jones and The Last Crusade, Misters George Lucas,
Steven Spielberg, and Harrison Ford have decided to bring back everyone's
favourite archaeologist Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones for
another rollicking - and long overdue - adventure.
The series has been sped up to 1957, where the United States of
America and the Soviet Union have been embroiled in the Cold War
for a number of years now. This in turn has made U.S. Government
extremely paranoid that Communist spies have infiltrated their country,
with their chief suspect being Dr. Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford)
who is placed under a heavy cloud of mistrust and forced out of
his job as a college professor.
Upon his departure, Jones is contacted by greaser "Mutt"
Williams (Shia LaBeouf) who informs him that his former college
Professor "Ox" Oxley (John Hurt) has been kidnapped by
the Soviets due to his expertise on the Crystal Skull, a mythical
Mayan relic which will give whomever returns it to its resting place
eternal knowledge and power. Jones agrees to help Mutt find the
professor, and becomes entangled in a dangerous mission involving
a deadly Soviet psychic (Cate Blanchett), Jones' former colleague
turned double agent (Ray Winstone), and Jones' former lover Marion
Ravenwood (Karen Allen).
In the process Spielberg and Lucas have created another top class
action/adventure which successfully plays tribute to the previous
instalments, while also standing alone on it own as an exhilarating
and often suspenseful film.
Seeing Harrison Ford back on the big screen with his fedora hat
and bullwhip in tow is indeed a pleasurable sight. Ford proves -
much like Sylvester Stallone (Rocky
Balboa) and Bruce Willis (Die
Hard 4.0) before him - that age should not be
a hindrance when it comes to action movies. His magnetic screen
presence is still in tact, and he proves to be quite the physical
specimen taking on the films heart thumping action sequences - among
them a high spirited fist fight with a large Soviet - with gusto
and his patented dead pan humour.
Supporting Ford are a number of fine actors, the most memorable
being Cate Blanchett, who seems to have relished taking on a campy
role while providing an impeccable Ukraine accent; and Shia LaBeouf,
who is perfectly cast as the vain and high tempered rebel with a
cause.
The return of Karen Allen is a welcome sight, and John Hurt is good
fun as the delirious professor whose brained is fried by the powers
of the Crystal Skull. However, acclaimed character actors Ray Winstone
(who annoys as the constantly treacherous Mac), and a hardly seen
Jim Broadbent are let down by a lack of character development.
Spielberg delivers exceptional work in the director's chair. The
films action sequences are extremely well choreographed, and despite
an over 2 hour run time and sometimes complicated plot, Spielberg
still manages to deliver an engrossing and fun movie.
My biggest beef with …Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is
with some of its special effects work - especially in regards to
several green screen shots during a wild chase through the jungle
- which brings back painful memories of George Lucas's overtly synthetic
Star Wars prequels.
Also of note are the various nods to the franchises previous instalments,
specifically the films opening scene set in the famed warehouse
seen at the conclusion of Raiders
of the Lost Ark, and its subsequent peek at The
Lost Ark of the Covenant.
Just how these moments will translate to fresh viewers to the Indiana
Jones series would be anyone's guess.
But I must confess a delirious enjoyment to these moments of nostalgia,
as with the film as a whole which defied my expectations and provided
a wonderful 124 min of entertainment.
However, I must also confess to a feeling of bitterness towards
Lucas, Spielberg, and Ford for not creating more Indian Jones films
within those 19 long years. With …Kingdom of the Crystal
Skull being this good, I can only wonder what these three men
could have came up with at their peek of their careers?
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