When a
franchise has been dormant for a long period of time, especially a beloved one
such as Star Wars or in this case, Indiana Jones, it is usually evident that a
remake or a sequel usually results in an unnecessary addition to a franchise
which ends up ruining it. This is evident with Star Wars and even Superman.
However, as bad as some films may be considered, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom
of the Crystal Skull is considered the most disappointing film next to The
Phantom Menace. I disagree
Based
around the crystal skull, this film tells the story of a much older Indiana
Jones who is once more on a search for a crystal skull as he must ensure it
doesn’t fall into the wrong hands of the Nazis….oh wait, the Soviets. This is
my biggest concern of the film right here, not the story in general but the
idea of using Russians as the main villains. Each previous Indiana Jones film
had a memorable villain, with the first and third using Nazis and the second
using terrifying Indian people. The villains in this film are so stereotypical
and bland that they immediately pass off as forgettable. Whilst Harrison Ford
is as brilliant in the role as he always is, bringing in the same endearing
characteristics that made him one of the most loved heroes, Cate Blanchett is
horribly miscast as the main villain. When you take into consideration how
great an actor she is from various films, to the point where she has won an
Oscar, you’d expect her to deliver a truly great performance in such a film.
Absolutely not in this case. She comes off as an irritating and very
unintimidating villain who comes off as a rather laughable person never
providing tension when it is needed. This is partly due to some of the poor
writing and some of the poor story involved with her character but Blanchett
herself is at fault in this particularly case. When you realize every other
villain has cast an image in this franchise and she doesn’t, there is
definitely something wrong
One of
my favourite scenes of the film is the fantastic sequence early in the film in
the warehouse where a fantastic and old school looking action sequence takes
place as John Williams’ legendary musical score starts bombastically dancing to
its own! This scene, despite the obvious CGI backgrounds, had a lot of great
action and some great humor and was an overall fun sequence. Ford immediately
ensured that we wouldn’t view this film the same as the Star Wars prequels as
he is able to bring in an endearing personality towards Indy once more. Then
the film certainly slows down and whilst some hate Shia LaBeouf, I certainly
didn’t mind him. I thought it was rather clever having him be Indy’s son which goes
well with Sean Connery being the father. Both Indy and Henry Jones Sr are
wreckless fathers who try to love their children but are too busy getting
caught up in their own world and life.
The
story itself is presented rather well even though it doesn’t follow the same
Indiana Jones structure. Most of the story is intriguing unlike the prequels to
Star Wars and come off feeling like an adventure that Indy could go on some
day. The script in this film is generally fantastic with some great moments and
lines but at the same time, does have some bad dialogue. This is George Lucas’
involvement.
Karen
Allen returns as Marion Ravenwood from Raiders of the Lost Ark and whilst her
character is present to bring back the feeling of the previous films, comes off
rather irritating and doesn’t do too much to help move the story. Whilst her
character was great in the first film, this is where it should’ve left with her
final known fate being having started a relationship with Indy as shown at the
end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. When she meets Indy once more after a long
time, it felt forced and rather awkward despite the two having been in a film
of the same franchise, a further 25 years earlier.
Steven
Speilberg is a legendary writer and whilst this is critically claimed as one of
his least successful films, I personally found it a joy to view the first time.
Surely it is full of flaws, more so than the previous films and doesn’t contain
the same magical and nostalgic factor, but Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the
Crystal Skull is able to overlook these issues thanks to a fantastic
performance by Harrison Ford and some great action sequences early on, as well
as an overall good and engaging storyline with a relatively good script. However, it is truly evident that this
instalment never needed to be there for this franchise.
Grade- 8/10
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