It seems strange to think that it has been 19 years since the release of the last Indiana Jones film back in 1989. It is also stranger to recollect when the last film was at the cinema, the first Batman film and a James Bond film were also released at the same time in busy summer period. Well, here we are in the Summer of 2008 and guess what? Both Batman and Bond will be released this year as well. Guess what goes around comes around.
This film being released so long after the Last Crusade is a big gamble on the part of Lucas and Spielberg. In an attempt to resurrect a profitable franchise in the same way as Stallone did with Rocky Balboa is a bold move indeed. The big question that will want to be answered will be if the film is any good. Given George Lucas's previous attempts at revisiting a franchise then I have to say that the Crystal Skull is not only entertaining but also fast paced and enjoyable, however that is not to say that the film is perfect as in some places it isn't. This is mainly because for an Indiana Jones film we are out of the comfort zone, there are no Nazis as the time-line is now set in 1957 in the middle of the Cold War era, so in this film the Russians are the new Nazi's.
The film starts on a high note with Indy and his colleague Mac being kidnapped by the Russians; they arrive outside a Military Base in the Desert. The Base itself turns out to be the mysterious Area 51 facility, The Russians need to get inside Area 51 to obtain a box that Jones managed to obtain in a dig some 10 years earlier. The warehouse they enter inside the Base is the one seen at the end of Raiders of The Lost Ark. But the Arc is not necessarily what they are after. A crate is located and removed to be loaded on the truck outside, this sets up a chase scene actually inside the enormous building. Not only is this well executed but has some nice touches to it such as Indy over estimating his radius of his whip-swing and ending up in the wrong vehicle. This is what is seen in the trailer.
From here on the film introduces a new character called Mutt who is played by Transformers star Shia LeBeouf. Over the course of the film his character grows on you and by the end you feel that Mutt has had undergone an induction process and feels that he has found something that that could prove to be his destiny.
Again Harrison Ford plays the legendary Indiana Jones. At 66 years old he looks incredibly well for someone of his age, he never lets up throughout the film and seems even more than ever to be a part of the film in what he does and how he does it, in the action sequences it is difficult to tell if a stuntman has replaced Ford as his face is seen throughout, and it is this observation that cements the film a lot more due to the fact it adds further connection between the character and audience. Additionally the fact that he is playing the character for the fourth time is shown by the presence he has on screen and the introduction given when we first see him.
One surprise for me was to see British actor Ray Winstone, he is one of my favorite actors as he is plays the role of George 'Mac' MacHale as a close colleague of Indy. He is at Indy's side throughout the film and yet seems to hide something from him. I liked Winstone in this and felt that his character balanced out Ford completely on screen.
In previous films a woman has always been used a "tool" to assisting the good or even the bad guy, in the Crystal Skull the woman is the bad guy and boy how refreshing is this. Cate Blanchett plays a high level Officer of the Russian Military called Irina Spalko. Spalko's quest crosses path with Dr Jones on a number of occasions. Personally I felt that Blanchett was the best opponent for Jones out of all four films. She has the quality of a Bond villain without going into Austin Powers territory and her accent, which has to be heard, is just brilliant! She is someone who is totally focused on the job at hand and will manage any ad- hoc issues accordingly.
Also staring in the film is Karen Allen, once again playing the character of Marion Ravenwood, the same character from Raiders. Good to see her back but in the main part of the film I felt she was completely underused and is used in that scene as conduit to the next stage of the film. Overall it is good to see her back. Other actors who appear are Jim Broadbent who plays Dean Stanforth and John Hurt who plays Ox. Not going to say too much about this character as I do not wish to send out spoilers for those who have yet to see the film.
Just too say keep a look out for Alan Dale as he brings one of the more era relevant sub-plots to an end. Yes, Jim from Neighbours is in this as well! In fairness Alan Dale's part is not much more than a cameo piece but you have to admit he is in a lot of things lately such as Lost, Ugly Betty, NCIS and so on. The reason that he stands up for Indy as well is a relevant to what was happening at the time in the United States, and I though that the American Government labeling Jones as a conspirator was a fresh and very good idea. Again this occurs at the beginning of the film. In my mind I would have liked to have seen this sub-plot develop further as this could have thrown up some interesting consequences that would have expanded the story even further. Could you imagine Indiana Jones on the run from his own government? Or Jones being in exile in another country?
I said earlier that this film is good but not perfect. The reasons for this is that the film seems to start half way through a story and kind of interrupts a Russian invasion of America as an opening scene. Unfortunately this is never really explained how we got to this stage of how Mac and Indy were held captive in the first place and that kind of annoyed me as it didn't really balance out and this makes you realize that the 1930's serial ambiance of the previous films had been lost as a new foundation point in the story was established, rather than built up from scratch.
One of the undertones of the film is that time has moved on and that is evident from a scene set in the College where Indy tells Dean Stanforth that he has lost a lot of friends, he looks down at a photo of the late Marcus Brody and Henry Jones Snr. Quite a moving scene. It also shows how Jones has moved on with his life as well as he is now Deputy Principal at Marshall College.
As befits an Indiana Jones film there are a number of twist, turns and revelations that are set at just the right time and are quite unexpected. Setting the story in 1957 was really the only logical thing that Lucas and Spielberg could do, with Ford older than in the previous film and to have him battling Germans like before would look somewhat stupid and totally unbelievable. It is also good to see some action scenes with Dr Jones actually being in America as well, as most of the locations for previous adventures have been outside of the States, with the exception of the early scenes of The Last Crusade.
One of the main progressions in production between the Last Crusade and Crystal Skull is the use of CGI in the film, in 1989 it was a very subtle use which seemed to be basic animation, 19 years later it is a completely different ball game. That's not to say that they have been overused but it is safe to say that some thought has gone into the use of these as they assist when required and don't defocus from what is happening on screen, bottom line they have been placed into context and are not dominant to the stage that they attract your attention away.
Music wise, again it is the legendary John Williams score that you hear on screen but this time seems more of a greatest hits compilation as the score utilizes themes from previous films to accompany what is happening on screen. Especially with the re-appearance of Marion as her theme from Raiders is re-used. The rest of the music especially the Indiana Jones theme sounds magnificent in the auditorium as the right sound mix has been applied. In fact people were whistling the tune when leaving the cinema!
Spielberg's direction is as good as ever and is up to the same level as previous Indy films. In fact he seems to have adopted some new camera techniques which only enhance the view and tells the story in a very interesting manner, especially compared to some of his more recent releases. This comes into play with the set pieces especially the jeep chase sequence which again was shown in clips in the trailer for the film. Lucas has captured the correct dialogue and none of the cast deliver there lines as if they reading of a cue card as a natural delivery in relation to the scene is given with normal speech patterns being used and not something that had been lifted out of a comic.
Overall, this effectively is a great period piece film as attitudes are captured towards the fashions icons of the era, films such as The Wild One and also a reference to American Graffiti (in-joke) are captured and does successfully give a great feel of the 1950's era. With how the film comes to an end then it would be a good idea to stop whilst on a high note as I got the impression that a fifth film may be a possibility and with the recent hype on the Internet, it may actually come true, which in my mind could dilute what this film has achieved and push the boundaries of the Indiana Jones universe to the extreme.
One concern that I had on the way in to see this was that when I saw the Last Crusade, I was only 16 and thought that the film would not appeal to me as I am now somewhat older and hopefully somewhat wiser. After the first 15 minutes, that worry had completely vanished and I felt that I was a kid again watching one of the all-time screen heroes return in a great adventure film.
So finally it seems like the summer of the big entertainment blockbuster has truly returned again, three of the biggest franchises will be appearing on the big screen again. All I can say to this is a big welcome back as seeing Dr Jones on screen again after 19 years away has truly addressed the summer drought issues that the cinema seems to have recently developed, mainly through a number of over hyped and lack lustre films. Oh and by the way, this isn't one of those as this film will be the one to actually get the people back to the cinema again.