Indiana Jones and the something about a Crystal Skull

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). Dir. Steven Spielberg.

So, this is going to be a critical discussion of the film. You might want to interpret that as an indicator that I didn’t like the film very much. And in that, you would be correct. However, before I start enumerating all of the aspects of the film that I didn’t like, I might as well mention that the film succeeds in its major purpose, i.e. keeping you in a seat until the end of the film, and taking your money.

It’s hard for me to choose a starting point, a point of purchase amongst the talus slope of the movie’s failings compared to what I expect from an adventure film. There’s a lot of lack here. The major problem that I have might be properly laid at the feet of the script, an utterly soulless piece of fluff if there ever was one. Although, knowing that awful scripts have been made into amazing films (or even just amazingly entertaining films) leads me to the conclusion that there were a number of factors contributing to the feeling that nagged me during most of the film’s runtime. That is, that every obvious part of the original series returns, but in trappings only. Whatever concatenation of pulp action-adventure, swashbuckling serial, and historical blender that made the earlier films so appealing (and unabashedly fun) to audiences is missing in Crystal Skull. In aping the earlier films this one has managed to lose the heart of the film, the humanly appealing aspects have been eclipsed by mediocre CG effects, ridiculous casting choices, and stupid plot-twists.

I am most offended, amongst these, with the casting. From Shia LeBouef, whose smug face and smarmy uninflected acting are a blight on good taste, to Cate Blanchett, accomplished but wrong for the part, at least half of the cast seems aggressively cast for their name. It’s always been sad that names and gimmicks have eclipsed good filmmaking, at this point it’s almost not worth mentioning, so common has it become.

Just briefly, I’d like to also point out how rushed the last part of the movie feels. The choice made to fill the first act with an extended contexting of the late 50s and the Cold War just feels tedious. And, the unintended consequence is that none of the rest of the film seems earned, just cribbed from the earlier movies without any regard as to why the ‘formula’ worked so well the first few times.

All this from someone who idolizes the insanity of Italian genre filmmakers, Hollywood you’re going to have to start trying harder. And not trying harder to get my money, but just make a good film and I’ll see it as many times as I can afford to, and then I’ll buy the DVD, and the 10th anniversary DVD, etc. I’m an easy mark, I just happen to have taste. Maybe some industry head will get bored and read this. Here’s to hoping.