Review: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
The Steven Spielberg film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, opened 10 years ago today. The fourth film in the Indiana Jones series once again starred Harrison Ford, along with newcomers Shia LaBeouf and Cate Blanchett.
Synopsis:
Indiana Jones is pulled into another adventure when he is kidnapped by Soviet spies and forced to help them find the mysterious Crystal Skulls. Indiana is also dealing with shocking developments in his personal life. The love of his life, Marion Ravenwood, has returned. Indy also learns that he has a son, Mutt Williams.
Positives:
- Crystal Skull starts very strong. The first 30 minutes features solid action scenes and heroic Indiana Jones moments.
- Harrison Ford hadn’t played Indiana Jones for nearly two decades when he returned for Crystal Skull. There was no rust on his performance as the archaeologist and Ford is definitely the highlight of the film.
- The film has a strong supporting cast. For the most part, everyone is good in their roles and do the best they can with the material.
-
The Steven Spielberg film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, opened 10 years ago today. The fourth film in the Indiana Jones series once again starred Harrison Ford, along with newcomers Shia LaBeouf and Cate Blanchett.
Synopsis:
Indiana Jones is pulled into another adventure when he is kidnapped by Soviet spies and forced to help them find the mysterious Crystal Skulls. Indiana is also dealing with shocking developments in his personal life. The love of his life, Marion Ravenwood, has returned. Indy also learns that he has a son, Mutt Williams.
Positives:
- Crystal Skull starts very strong. The first 30 minutes features solid action scenes and heroic Indiana Jones moments.
- Harrison Ford hadn’t played Indiana Jones for nearly two decades when he returned for Crystal Skull. There was no rust on his performance as the archaeologist and Ford is definitely the highlight of the film.
- The film has a strong supporting cast. For the most part, everyone is good in their roles and do the best they can with the material.
Negatives:
- All the action scenes in Crystal Skull feel very safe and lack the intensity of the previous Indy adventures. The action scenes, for the most part, are void of urgency and any real consequence.
- There are too many characters in the film and they often take away from Indiana Jones. The new characters aren’t bad, but they distract from what the focus should be, Dr. Jones.
- The story as a whole isn’t captivating, especially compared to the previous Indiana Jones films. The Crystal Skulls don’t hold the same weight as an artifact as the Ark or Holy Grail.
In Closing:
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull isn’t a bad movie, but it definitely isn’t a good Indiana Jones film. The action isn’t handled nearly as well as it was in the earlier Indy films. Harrison Ford is still excellent in the part, but the script gives him very little to do, which is shocking in an Indiana Jones film. Crystal Skull is a major disappointment for Indiana Jones fans and is by far the weakest entry in the series.
Rating: C-