Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Indiana Jones has faced many adventures over the years, and adventures that have entertained millions. There are few film trilogies that are as consistent, well made, and entertaining as the Indiana Jones trilogy. But for that last 19 years or so, Jones has quietly been battling his biggest adventure yet – trying to escape the bowels of development hell, a place where scripts are rewritten, casts are shuffled, and where movies are never made. Well, it took some time, but the greatest archaeologist to ever live has finally done it, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is here!

Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) may have been absent from the screen for a while, but he’s still been up to old tricks, and that’s made clear right from the start, as our hero is being held at gunpoint, and forced to retrieve an artifact for a group of Russians, being led by Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett). The mystery item these Russians seek is of course the Crystal Skull, which they want, like all the villains in the Indy series, so they can harness its mysterious power.

Spielberg doesn’t waist anytime throwing our favorite hero right into the action. Much like Raiders of the lost Ark, which opens with a now famous set piece, Crystal Skull delivers an entertaining action sequence in a warehouse, one that the movie is never able to top. Not for lack of trying, of course.

Indy is joined by newcomer Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf) who is a friend of Indy’s old pal Professor Oxley (John Hurt), a man who has made major breakthroughs in finding the Crystal Skull, but is now missing. Much like The Last Crusade, Mutt brings along a letter revealing Oxley’s last known whereabouts, which kicks off this crazy adventure.

I must admit that when I first heard that LaBeouf would be stepping in to the Short Round role I was a little nervous, but thankfully there was nothing to be nervous about. Indy and Mutt work great together, with a lot of the great chemistry that made watching Sean Connery and Harrison Ford so enjoyable in the third film, only now Ford is the older, wiser one.

The first half of this movie is great, with classic Indy shining through in strides, but unfortunately ends up in a weird place. It’s entertaining, but as far as Indiana Jones movies go it’s definitely the weakest. That’s mainly because the story just isn’t that good. When Indy and Mutt are searching for the Crystal Skull the film plays out like classic Indy, but when they finally obtain the Skull the film becomes one big special effects showcase.

The special effects take over, and the film never slows down to fill the audience in on what’s happening. What makes the original Indy films so great is its balance between great action sequences, cool characters, and an engaging story. The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull starts out with all of these things, but ends up becoming throw away popcorn fluff. This is extremely evident in the films Jungle sequence, one that features Shia LaBeouf pulling off his best Tarzan impression, culminating in a waterfall sequence that is completely ridiculous, even by current blockbuster standards. I won’t spoil the ending, but lets just say it’s equally as ridiculous.

Overall, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a fun ride that gets really bumpy towards the end. It’s great to see Harrison Ford crack the whip again, but know this – 20 years from now nobody will be calling this a classic.