Cast: Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Ray Winstone, Shia LaBeouf, Karen Allen

Director: Steven Spielberg

Screenplay: David Koepp

Genre: Action/Adventure

Running time: 2 hrs 4 mins



CRITIQUE:


There is a moment in the first sequence of the film where the ferociously cool femme-fatale Irina Spalko (a splendid turn from Cate Blanchett) utters in a convincing Russian accent: “let’s do this in an old-fashioned way”. There’s never a line from the rest of the film that suits better in this fourth screen reconciliation of the whippersnapper man-in-a-fedora, INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL. As soon as the intro kicks in (opting for the archaic Paramount template) and the main hero is classically introduced, no sooner than the Indy hardcore fans gush and rejoice in orgiastic sensation, who were all waiting for 17 years for the exemplary return. The hair under the hat may be already grey, but this doesn’t stop Harrison Ford from wisecracking, whip-snapping and punching a bad guy or two, or perhaps even more.


This is fundamentally Steven Spielberg and George Lucas’ promise to remain religious to the genre and its soul. The good ol’ look of the first three predecessors were restored in a gorgeous, rich and glowing cinematography (kudos to Janusz Kaminski) that renders the scenes sumptuous with visual flair instead of just plain spectacle. It is THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL’s highest peak, generating the “old-fashioned” 50s look. Truer to the point, not only the visual palette, but its plotline development is a rigid, stick-to-the-book histrionic. One, we get the opening action sequence (usually introduction to Indy’s character); two, a slight recess into the University of Chicago where the Professor Henry Jones Jr. divulges his side-profession; three, a riddle-solving caper towards the unknown and the perilous (enter sidekick); four, almost endless duels with the army of villainry; and finally, a sprawling, climactic set-piece almost as over-the-top than anything else shown in the film, more often than not an explosion takes place or an ancient structure collapses. Before the dust settles in, hold your fires, this is never less than entertaining.


THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL means a hodgepodge roster of the theoretical conspiracies, gratuitous mythologies, and one added element not found in its progenitors, that is science fiction. It takes us to Nevada’s Area 51 in the era where “alien talk” is at its ripest, it steers us to the streets of Chicago, where rock n’ roll generation deluges, and it moves us in a crushing speed, with exception to the film’s major misstep which shows Indy and Mutt (Shia LaBeouf, in a kilter cap and sporting a Marlon Brando-esque air along with a Harley Davidson) discussing the labyrinthine legend of the Crystal Skulls, into the Amazonian jungle. Throw in a spectacular chase scene through the flora and fauna, Labeouf and Blanchett drawing a swordfight atop speeding jeeps is gut-leaping; chuck some gazillions of man-eating ants in a jittery sequence, and involve the characters in waterfall-leaping, sand-drowning, artefact-hunting, and escaping from collapsing ruins – it is entertainment bliss. Yes, we know Mutt swinging around the canopies like Tarzan (they should cue in a Tarzan score, and it’ll be extremely jarring to watch) and the three-drops in a waterfall is just overstated. What is more, the finale is way too silly and implausible, but aren’t the rest of the three Indiana Jones movies silly and implausible?


Of course, there will be misfires. The mouthy tirade between former lovebirds Indy and Marion is all very well, and Mutt shares his own good one-liners, but the characters of Ray Winstone and John Hurt are reduced to an ambiguous hypocrite and a gaping-and-mumbling Mayan specialist respectively, nothing more than just devices to the plot they serve. Harrison Ford proves that he can still swing some heights, punch some weights, and obey conviction to the character he made legendary since 1981. Fortunately, LeBeouf stands his own ground alongside Indy as a deserving sidekick and Blanchett as a head-turning, venomous one-hell-of-a-woman. What a superb actress! Plot-wise, there are loopholes so apparent i.e. how does Spalko and her team manages to go through the waterfall challenge without getting wet? Is it the audience becoming dumber or is the scriptwriter’s need to finish the script in a hurry?


As the world audience know by now that this new Indiana Jones input has been both slagged and glorified by critics. It received divided attention at Cannes Film Festival, but since the franchise is just critic-proof, the box office continues to cash in with the audience not caring about some bloody writer who thinks he’s a better viewer than the rest. To anyone who defiantly thinks THE KINGDOM AND THE CRYSTAL SKULL is a harebrained, codswallop of a film, they should think twice. Almost three decades ago, THE RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK set a template for the genre of action-adventure and it’s almost as silly and too fantastic in terms of plot. After all, what is entertainment without the fantastic? Although codswallop, it’s an utterly enjoyable one.



VERDICT:

Slated or marvelled, there’s no denying that this fourth INDIANA JONES incarnation is an exquisite throwback to the once golden age of entertainment heaven. Whilst this is no paradise, proven with pitfalls and minor weaknesses, they’re all overshadowed by the original riddle-solver of our time that set the motion of endless copycats.



RATING: B+