Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull , a review by Jon
Seen it. Loved it. 'Nuff said.
This was the best cinema experience I've had for ages. It wasn't perfect by a long shot, but it's such great fun the problems just breeze by into the next jaw-dropping set piece. I do think it sagged a little in the middle with a couple of silly bits, compounded by ropey CGI, which I actually don't mind because it adds to the experience of the old, seat-of-the-pants filmmaking Indy is a tribute too. But those silly bits start with an incredible fight across speeding jeeps and are bridged by an old-fashioned Indy fist fight with a Russian, so it's never boring and always pushing hard. Oh my word, it's great!
What makes it great is Spielberg. The great irony of the series is that while they are a tribute to the old serials, at the same time, he is capable of much more and can do it in his sleep. I think he really had the bit between his teeth on this though and I frequently had the sense that he was working beyond his tools, in the way a handful of directors have done before. To be fair, he's always been one of them, regularly giving cinema and his peers a well-aimed kick in the arse. But it's so long since he's just had fun and he makes it look easy. The opening scene especially: it's pretty pointless and probably unnecessary, but it's a masterclass sequence. Or just little things like the fight with the Russian; while still your classic barroom brawl style with gunshot sound effects, it seemed to have a little extra something in the choreography. It didn't need it, but it's the cherry on top.
Of course, a masterclass show-reel is all it would be without Ford. He is still marvellous in the role, despite a creakiness, and the script effortlessly adds to the mythology. The series has often lived off the parts we didn't see. The thing I always loved about Indy and the original Star Wars trilogy was the idea that a lot more had been going on.
With a 65 year old in the lead, we were never going to get a sequence to match the trucks in Raiders, but Shia picks up the short-fall very well. Cate makes for a brilliant pantomime villain (like dodgy CGI, a film like this not only gets away with silly accents, it positively needs them!). The rest of the cast don't get as much time as they deserve, but shine when they do. The finale has a very clever moment that leaves me hopeful for a potential extension. Maybe there is always room for Henry Jones Jr.
(From Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on May 23rd, 2008)
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May 18, 2024, 10:25:58 PM
