Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Review

Indiana Jones is back in theaters again and after seeing his latest exploits for myself the other day, I have to ask: Why did they bother? It's not that Harrison Ford's too old, quite the contrary actually. He slips right back into the role effortlessly and makes the viewer wish that they had been making these movies all throughout the 19 year layoff that the character has had from cinemas. The film also looks great, but there is way too much CGI involved for a movie that director Steven Spielberg declared was trying to stay away from a preponderance of it. No, the problem with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a problem that has been plaguing many big budget movies as of late: the script. It's a mess and it is the single reason that moviegoers will exit the theater this weekend saying "What the hell was that?" as opposed to "Let me get in line again." With all that said, I didn't hate this movie, as there is a genuine note of nostalgia at seeing Harrison Ford back as his most famous character, but there is a lot of disappointment at the final product. It feels like a wasted opportunity and that saddens me, as Indiana Jones has been one of my favorite characters since childhood. Now, on to the review, but of course, let me put the warning out now, spoilers up ahead.

The movie starts out well enough in 1957 and I got a real sense of a "man out of time" shaping up, with Indy being a hero of the 30's and 40's being thrust into the atomic age. There are a few stretches in plausibility (the "fridge" sequence), but the payoff is amazing, when the viewer sees that shot of Indiana Jones silhouetted against a mushroom cloud. Outstanding. Then, the film gets into some Red Scare moments with the government thinking that Indy is working with the Commies. Indy then gets pulled into the main adventure by Shia LaBeouf, who's mother has been kidnapped due to their association with an old colleague of Indy's. Now, this is a great hook to get Indy involved, but it also serves to keep him on the sidelines for the last 45 minutes of the movie doing nothing but observing. LaBeouf is not bad in his role, but if he is to be the main character in any future Indiana Jones movies, as George Lucas has hinted, count me out. Once Indiana Jones (who can only be played by Harrison Ford) gets pushed to the side, it ceases to be an Indiana Jones movie. And yes, as the worst kept secret in Hollywood, Shia's character is Indy's son with Marion, who also shows up in the middle of the movie and is completely wasted as a character. This brings up another problem with Crystal Skull, there are way too many characters with not enough to do. By bringing in so many people into the quest, Lucas and Spielberg diminished Indy's role and as much as the teenage girls love Shia, the vast majority of moviegoers are there for Indiana Jones.

Once Marion shows up, as well as John Hurt as Indy's former colleague, the script goes off the rails as the movie cannot decide whether it wants to be a science fiction movie or anther 30's adventure film. I didn't mind the whole insertion of aliens into the plot of this movie, but the filmmakers just don't make it believable that they exist in this film universe. After everything Indy has seen, with the Ark, the Temple of Doom, the Holy Grail, and God knows what else in the intervening 19 years, they're telling me he's having a hard time buying aliens? Give me a break. Basically, once John Hurt shows up, the movie becomes two things: "Plug in the Indiana Jones movie device that works here," and "Follow John Hurt to the lost city the characters are looking for while Indy plays observer." All of that makes for a boring climax. For all the ballyhooing about the jungle chase scene by critics, I just saw it as a weak shadow of the truck chase in Raiders of the Lost Ark with a shit-ton of CGI. And don't even get me started on the "Tarzan moment" that made me groan in displeasure.

The filmmakers simply have too many balls in the air and they're lousy jugglers. Even the tacked on neat happy ending rings false as there is no real chemistry built up between Marion and Indy through the first hour and fifty minutes. It's like I said, the film is just a mess. I almost wish that this had been Indiana Jones 5 and that they had made Indiana Jones 4 about the intervening 19 years, because whenever a character references that time in the film, it sounds a hell of a lot more exciting than what Lucas and Spielberg offered us up this time around. The sad part is, there were easy fixes to many of the problems that were laid out in the script, but the filmmakers didn't want to make the hard choices to make them. First, as I mentioned, Marion is completely underused and underdeveloped in this chapter. It would have been much easier (as much as I wanted to see Karen Allen reprise her role from Raiders) to kill her off in the missing 19 years and have Shia's character already know that he's seeking out his father for help. Either that, or get her into the story earlier. Second, with John Hurt's character being the conduit to find the lost city, Indy is pushed to the side. Simple fix, make Indy the conduit. If the crystal skull in the title is as powerful as all the characters say it is, it could have made Indy forget he had ever been to the lost city and helped him remember what he had lost.

Overall, if you're a fan of Indiana Jones, you owe it to yourself to at least check the movie out, as opinions on it have been wide and varied. It's good to see Harrison Ford back, but I wish they had put more time and care into the script than just throwing in everything they wanted to put in the movie and then trying to string it all together, like it appears they did. Just a really big disappointment, and after the Star Wars Prequels, I wasn't even expecting that much to begin with. If they do indeed make an Indy 5, they should do it now and set it in the 40's; tell some of Indy's WWII stories. At least they sound interesting.

Iron Man Review

It's official, Iron Man is the movie to beat this summer. The script is fairly tight, given that Iron Man doesn't have the greatest of villains, and serves as a great launching pad to a new superhero franchise. Robert Downey Jr. shines as Tony Stark/Iron Man and brings great charisma and bravado to the character. Also, with Downey's history of addiction in real life, he is ideal to portray Tony Stark, who battled alcoholism in the comic books. The supporting cast is topnotch as well as the chemistry between all the actors, particularly Downey and Gwyneth Paltrow. The special effects are sharp and the final Iron Man suit is fantastic; very true to the suit that is on display on paper every month in Marvel Comics.

The comic book movie formula may be losing its punch as more and more characters are pulled from the quarter bins and thrust onto the screen, but Iron Man executes the formula to perfection and is full of the promise of great adventures to come. Marvel has announced that they will be launching Iron Man's allies in the superhero team The Avengers in their own movies and then launching an Avengers movie in its own right. This is good news for Iron Man, as his rogue's gallery is weak and sustaining a franchise with him alone would be difficult. For now, though, audiences have the movie in theaters now and I can't recommend it enough. It's a fun ride with a fun character.