*slap* "That's for blasphemy!"
Went to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on Thursday.
I deliberately went in expecting it to be rubbish so that I wouldn't be disappointed. And I wasn't. I rather liked it, actually.
When I think Indiana Jones, my mind doesn't automatically go to aliens. I actually really like the religious/mythological nature of the 'treasures' in the first three and so was a little put off by the alien theme. All I could think of was the Stargate episode Crystal Skull - the benevolent aliens helping ancient civilisations prosper and them in turn immortalising and worshipping them as gods, skull with magical powers over the mind etc. I realise they ideas come from the same cultural reference and therefore are bound to be similar, but it was all I could think of for most of the film :D
However, aliens lend themselves very well to the 50’s and therefore I can see why they chose to go down that path. I kind of wish they’d stuck to Earth-bound religious mythology (they’ve done Judaism, Hinduiam and Christianity - but there’s plenty more to choose from!).
The film really picks up when Karen Allen comes on the scene. Felt the rekindled romance between her and Indy was a little trite at times, but overall rather entertaining. Loved the scene in the quicksand. And the snake! That was great.
Some of the dialogue was pretty woeful, although on the whole not too bad. There were some great comedy moments - although they tended more to be visual gags than verbal - there were no really great one-liners - I don’t think people will be quoting this film like they do Last Crusade.
I was expecting to loathe Shia LeBouf’s character, but I didn’t mind him, really. Sometimes he teetered on the edge of irritating, but never really crossed it. I also think they handled it well by not having him immediately seem like Indy’s protégé - he was actually quite a realistic character in how he reacted to certain situations i.e panicking, doing the wrong thing, overreacting and having to be calmed down. The character was always there and had some good hero moments, but he never tried to take over the film - it remained Indy’s game.
Cate Blanchett’s Russian accent was horrendous and like something out of a panto. I know camp OTT villains are part of the Indiana Jones legacy, but it was way too over the top and really, made the character less intimidating. I really rate Cate Blanchett as an actress, and she was good in the role, but the voice made me cringe - “I vant to know!”
Speaking of OTT-ness, I think the original three knew how to be thrilling and unrealistic, but in that fun, suspension of disbelief way. A lot of the time during the film I think they hit that note, and then kept going, making it too hard to believe. I loved what I like to call the ‘Musical Jeeps’ sequence, but then they started the fencing on the bonnets of said jeeps - too much. Mutt’s Tarzan moment - too much. I think the beauty of the original films is that it was sly and kind of a wink-nudge to the audience ‘look at these amazing stunts that could never happen in real life but they’re so entertaining you believe it anyway’. Crystal Skull just went too far on occasion for me.
The ending left me a little underwhelmed - in that they returned the skull, and then the alien’s flew back home, presumably, not caring if the people who were responsible for them being able to leave got killed in the process. I just didn’t have that ‘Oh, wow’ factor I felt with the opening of the Ark and drinking from the Holy Grail. Perhaps because there was no real connection with the aliens themselves - I liked that they were ‘archaeologists’, but other than that there was no emotional payoff for me. Maybe I’m just being too picky about the whole alien thing.
All of that being said, I did like it. It was never going to be as good as the original three, and really, to expect it to be is just unrealistic. A lot has happened since we last saw an Indy film - the Mummy, National Treasure, even things like Stargate have conditioned us to know what to expect from an action-adventure relic-hunter experience. And it’s still fun to watch.
That’s all it needs to be, really, for me. And there was a lovingly-framed shot of Henry Jones Snr in a necktie. Win.