In my youthful days of imitating cowboys and watching Ninja Turtles videos in my pajamas, I had my lineup of favorite movies on VHS for my frequent indulgence just like most kids. My shelves were lit up by the likes of Star Wars, James Bond, and, yes, the Indiana Jones trilogy. Many a night I would escape into the riveting adventures of this iconic film character, with its deservedly idolized score, strong performances, and timeless sense of adventure.
Time has dulled my opinion of this trilogy somewhat. Raiders of the Lost Ark is every bit the masterpiece I remember it being, and I still quite like Temple of Doom despite the general opinion that this is the trilogy's Return of the Jedi. Unfortunately, despite the presence of Sean Connery, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade has not aged well for me. The humor that worked so well in the first two films is made painful self-aware in this film, and the sense of fun has given way to a self-parody that borders on shame. Of course, I was rather sceptical when I heard the long-awaited fourth film was going to be closest in tone to the third.
Many people will go to this film and search for extremes of quality. You'll see long arguments on the internet about how it's either a terrible disappointment or brilliant when it's actually a bit of a mixed-bag. There are two halves fighting each other here, most likely as a result of years spent arguing over where the story should go. The ultimately chosen plot was hated by Steven Spielberg, and there is a noticeable confidence that is missing in this episode of the Indy mythos. Yes, it involves aliens, and it does stoop to silly levels, but there are myriad elements also borrowed from the number of other scripts that have been written for this film, which makes the whole film a slight mess despite David Koepp's skill with drawing fragments into a cohesive but uninspired whole.
Our fourth adventure with Indiana Jones opens rather lamely. Spielberg's skill with composition and camera movement are apparent here, but what he's shooting is an inconsequential race between annoying teenagers and what seems to be a military driver near Area 51. There are also CGI prairie dogs. Yeah.
Soon, we learn that these trucks belong to a KGB force led by a psionic communist played by Cate Blanchett (who behaves suspiciously similar to Natasha from The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show). Compared to the nazis from Raiders of the Lost Ark, these guys nail the camp but forego any of the sinister qualities, thus coming off as a generic cartoon. Soon enough, they've penetrated the curiously underprotected compound and drag two Americans out of the trunk of the leader's car, one of which is archaeologist Mac and the other of which is our old buddy Indiana Jones.
If you're wondering how they got here, don't worry. David Koepp tells us with pages of exposition. This is easily the talkiest of the movies, and it seriously hurts the film. Another unfortunate noticeable flaw is that John Williams's score is almost completely forgettable, which is strange considering even his work on the generally inferior Star Wars prequels was still rather good. Here, it's barely more memorable than a Marco Beltrami score.
Overall, this opening set-piece is a dud compared to previous opening sequences in the other entrees. Constant dialogue grates on the ears as we wait impatiently for Indy to start kicking some butt, and Mac decides to tritely switch sides (which he does constantly in the course of the film) until we finally see Harrison Ford make his escape. Action is what makes this film worth watching, as we see Spielberg being endlessly inventive despite working with a story George Lucas essentially whined for. Sequence gives way to sequence as it builds to a climax, always putting geography and character action before flashy camera tricks (which proves why Spielberg is still the king of spectacle). It's at this point that the film takes a turn for the better, and we start to have some fun despite the storytelling issues.
In the course of this sequence, we get a glimpse of what the KGB is after, which just seems like a mutilated corpse at first. We follow a search for a hidden kingdom of gold, the key to which is a misshapen skull of crystal (hence the title) and the guidance of an insane archaeologist played by John Hurt. Over the course of the film, various disconnected strands are brought together, and it's clear a number of them were meant for completely different stories. We meet a character named Mutt Williams, played by Shia LaBeouf, who actually works surprisingly well thanks to LaBeouf's performance. Without spoiling anything, I object to the very nature of his character, which can be predicted by most people themselves. Yet, shockingly, his character works. LaBeouf has become a favorite of the industry executives, but it's easy to see why. He has charisma and an unpretentiousness that makes him a solid anchor for this and last summer's Transformers.
More importantely, he's a link to a character who we haven't met for quite some time, an integral one from Indy's past. I'm grateful Spielberg and company found room for this character, especially considering how inconsistent the new characters are. As previously mentioned, Blanchett, despite her immense talent, plays a dud villain. I'm not sure why she's psychic, as it adds nothing to the film. Ray Winstone plays an old buddy of Indy's who constantly changes his allegiance for the sake of advancing the plot. I could never develope sympathy for him when I was supposed to, nor could I hate him enough to consider Winstone a compelling villain. However, John Hurt plays the traumatized archaeologist Professor Oxley, and this was the best new character here. Hurt has always proven to be one of the most versatile actors in the world, disappearing into his characters with ease, and he has a heavy load playing this psychologically handicapped character with the key to the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls that he lifts with an Atlas-esque ease. Jim Broadbent also puts in solid work as a college dean that Jones teaches under, though he doesn't appear enough to instill any more than a mildly positive boon.
As mentioned before, where this film really excels is in the action sequences. His escape features ideas stacked upon ideas, making it clear that Spielberg still has some of the spark of his early days. Besides this, we get a car chase through the jungle that I feel ranks among the very best moments of the trilogy. It takes up a considerable amount of the film's runtime, and features an RPG, swordfighting, vine swinging, and driving on-the-edge-of and off cliffs. And also giant killer red ants. That's awesome.
Unfortunately, the ending is the worst of the quadrilogy, and it's one of the most bizarre in any Spielberg film. I don't think anyone will object to my saying that it involves a CGI alien and what seems to be an attempt to bring together the endings to Raiders of the Lost and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, complete with melting people. I'm not sure who convinced the makers that this would be a good ending, but it most likely involved questionable substances slipped into their club sandwiches. It's that weird and surreal, and I think George Lucas got the biggest dosage considering the amount of computer generated images involved. I won't deny that one of the most bombastic images is visually impressive, but I wish they had made it happen to someone whose image is less ingrained in our minds than Indiana Jones.
My last complaint is with the cinematgraphy, which is overlit and doesn't even come close to the look of the first three films. It contributes to a lightweight entree that I can't imagine becoming half as iconic as Raiders of the Lost Ark or even Temple of Doom. I understand that Mr. Lucas bafflingly released a statement asking film fans to lower their expectations, but that's no excuse when it would be far better to actually strive to meet them. Mr. Lucas damaged this film and prevented it from becoming even close to what it should have been.
But, despite my many complaints, this is not a worthless film. As a matter of fact, it's worth watching for the entertainment value and for simply seeing Harrison Ford in one of the roles he made his name with one last time. It actually ties the films together in a way that was far more satisfying than in the Last Crusade, and I'm glad it was made. I doubt I'll watch it again, but I think it's motivated me to seek out Raiders of the Lost Ark again. There's a reason it's iconic and beloved, and no matter how much George Lucas insists on ruining my childhood, I don't think he'll ever touch that masterpiece.
Thank God.