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Maniac Grade: B
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- DVD: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2-Disc)
- Rating: PG-13
- Starring: Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Shia LaBeouf, Karen Allen, Ray Winstone, John Hurt
- Written By: George Lucas, David Koepp, Jeff Nathanson
- Directed By: Steven Spielberg
- Distributor: Paramount Pictures
- Original Year of Release: 2008
- Extras: Trailers, Production Diaries, Multiple Documentaries, Multiple Galleries, Xbox 360 Demo
DVD Review of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2 Disc)
Fuel for the Fire or just Fun? By
Robert T. Trate
October 13, 2008
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
© Paramount/ Lucasfilm
After nineteen years of waiting, Indiana Jones came back to us. Much like the highly scrutinized return of Star Wars, Indiana Jones has its haters (Matt Stone and Trey Parker especially). Was nineteen years too long to wait? Yes, and for some Indiana Jones has become like Star Wars, tarnished. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull moves past the serials that Raiders, Temple of Doom and Last Crusade paid homage to. Director Steven Spielberg and co-creator George Lucas took Indy into the 1950’s and into the science fiction B movies of that era. Whether or not this was to your liking depends on you. Being a huge fan of those movies and appreciating historically the time that Indy (Harrison Ford), Mutt (Shia LaBeouf ) and Marion (Karen Allen) were living in I thought Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was fun. Did I love everything about it? No. Look-alike Mutt monkeys were my biggest problem with the film. However with each turn in the story I found the movie to be a great throwback to those sci-fi B movies of the 50’s it tired to emulate.
For those that felt Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was less than perfect and are looking for some hard evidence as to why the film fell apart look no further than Steven Spielberg’s own lips. In “Return of the Legend” Spielberg talks about setting up that last shot in Last Crusade where Indy, his father, Sallah and Marcus ride off into the sunset. It was his way of sending his creation off into history and saying goodbye. Lucas, over the years, would contact him about a new Indiana Jones movie involving aliens. Later Spielberg openly admits to toying with him as Lucas kept running ideas past him thinking it will never get done. After both Lucas and Spielberg saw Independence Day Spielberg thought that aliens were a good idea as well. Suddenly, Indy 4 was in pre-production. It would take twelve years worth of scripts and three Star Wars prequels in the can to finally get it made. Throughout many of the documentaries there is nostalgia and awe of being reunited with not only original cast members but crew and producers. Did they think that this was a reunion tour where they could phone in a performance and the fans wouldn’t care regardless of the outcome? Was just having Harrison Ford in the hat and cracking the whip enough? What will become an outright slap in the face to many die hard Indiana Jones fans is when Spielberg states that Indy has become iconic and that this film is really for them, the fans. Well it isn’t for all of them.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is, after all, just another movie. It will never reach the iconic state of its predecessors. For those of you out there that enjoyed the film, the two disc DVD set is loaded with enough documentaries and behind the scenes footage to satisfy your hunger for Indiana Jones. Learning little tidbits such as, Moses’ staff being amongst the artifacts that the Russians rummaged through at Area 51 was great. Seeing John Williams receive an Indiana Jones hat from Spielberg was touching but hearing Williams break down the reasons for his different themes per character was priceless. Since his music is such a huge part of Spielberg’s work maybe he should record a commentary track (surprise, surprise there was none) for the film.
There isn’t a documentary about the real crystal skulls which is surprising considering how many channels had shows about them before the movie premiered. The best documentary on the second disc was the “Effects of Indy”. Paul Houston and Ben Burtt break down their own personal history tied to the original Indiana Jones movies and mark how effects have changed over the years. Numerous times we are shown the original film plate and then the plate again with Industrial Light and Magic’s wizardry behind it. Gone is the talk of nostalgia and a break down is revealed on how the film was made. There is still that awe of working on an Indiana Jones film by many of the production team but there is a greater sense of urgency to get things done right. One cannot help but compare the young filmmakers toiling away at their computers, applying effects and wonder why Lucas, Spielberg and Ford are posing for pictures, again.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull though flawed, was fun and a great trip down memory lane. Going to the theater and seeing it with friends and family was the best thing that Spielberg and Lucas gave us. The film on DVD is a fun movie to add to the collection. For others it is reminder that you really can’t go home again.
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