Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls
Saturday night, I went to see the new Indiana Jones movie. I gotta say that I was fairly disappointed. There were plenty of parts where I’m thinking to myself, “Yes! This is so totally an Indiana Jones movie!” But then there are the parts–and those who have seen it know what they are–where it’s so totally not. Without spoiling it, where the previous Indiana Jones movies have been adventure films dealing with magical religious relics, this fourth movie is heavily based around science fiction.
What’s refreshing to see is that the story successfully expresses how Indiana Jones’ character has grown and aged (both physically and mentally). He’s not the same Indiana that we knew 20 years ago; he’s what we’d expect to become of Dr. Jones once he’d reached his mid-60′s…nearly ten years older than his father was when we’d last seen him. He’s still as wise and cocky as ever, but certainly less reckless. We also get little tastes of what Indiana has been up to though history between the 1930s and 1950s, almost as if we’d missed a couple film’s worth of stories in between.
The thing that does hurt the film is what I felt ruins a lot of recent movies based on 1980s franchises–and not just other George Lucas properties, but movies like Superman Returns as well. That being the extra effort to connect the new movie to the previous ones ad nauseum. As much as I loved Marion as a believable female role over that blond bimbo from “Temple of Doom”, her presence was completely unnecessary for this newest movie. Regardless of how much I loved her in it as well. Her only purpose was to serve as a familiar face to help draw in the fans.
Shia LeBeouf’s character wasn’t much better, but I understand what his role was about. Since he’s so much younger, his character can perform all the exciting action that Harrison cannot. It’s also easy to see (without giving too much away) that he may in fact be the keystone toward reviving the franchise. There was a noticeable “passing of the torch” vibe expressed in this movie. Though I don’t believe that anyone could truly replace Harrison Ford’s character.
I’ve been doing my best to avoid the technical differences between the original trilogy and this new film, with it’s 21st Century visuals. Most of the visual effects were convincing and I must say that this film had some of the best camera work that I’ve ever seen. But there is one thing I have to comment on, and that’s lighting. Part of what defines an Indiana Jones movie in my mind is the use of harsh natural sunlight. Indiana Jones is about getting one’s hands dirty in brutal outdoor conditions. You can almost feel yourself sweat, the sand in your nose, and skin begin to burn just by watching one of those movies. In this movie, most exterior scenes were shot in front of a green screen…and you can feel it. Scenes that should feel gritty and natural instead feel sterile and synthetic.
I believe that we certainly need more action/adventure films like Indiana Jones, but Spielberg and Lucas should not be the ones making them anymore. In the past 20 years, they’ve grown into being very different filmmakers. They’re different people now and have different motives in how they operate in Hollywood. Franchises like Star Wars and Indiana Jones may continue, but without all the things that originally made them great and I fear that forthcoming features will pale in comparison, regardless of the advancement in technological capability. I would much more prefer–and I know this goes against the entire current business model of the entertainment industry–that we invest in the fresh talents emerging and create new stories that are able to hold up along side with the classics of the past. I’d like to see more evidence that what’s being released lately really is the best that our culture artistically has to offer.
