Thoughts on the Return of Indiana Jones
May 25th, 2008 | By Rick | Category: Reviews
I saw Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull yesterday, and I can’t say that it was bad. I enjoyed much of it: in fact, the entire first sequence was more pure, unadulterated fun than I’ve had in the movies in a while. From the point when the Paramount mountain dissolves to a prairie-dog hill until Indy thunks to earth in a refrigerator, thrown there by an atom bomb, for God’s sake, it was an exhilarating ride.
I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark when it opened in 1981. I remember liking it, but not a lot more, and for good reason: that was the night my wife went into labor with our first child. Of course, by that time, I was an old hand at the new species called the summer blockbuster. I’d seen Jaws when it opened in ‘75, and in 1977 I saw the first showing in Spokane, Washington of a little-known flick called Star Wars. We didn’t have to wait in line at all.
Looking back on it, it seems amazing to me how only two men — Steven Spielberg and George Lucas — changed the movies for better or worse. Not that I blame them for any of the bad stuff (well, I do blame Lucas), they were just trying to make the best movies they could. But the economy of Hollywood was forever altered, and studios had visions of blockbusters dancing in their heads.
And so we come to this summer, and unlike that first Star Wars, Indiana Jones is not the only belle at the ball. It’s not even the first of this year’s blockbusters, but that would’ve been all right if it had recaptured the magic. It had the potential to: Spielberg can still helm a mean motion picture, and Harrison Ford — despite what some folks say — is his old, affable self.
But, alas, it wasn’t to be. Somewhere after the beginning of the second act, it goes off the rails. (I can actually pinpoint where that happens, but that might spoil things for the three people who haven’t yet seen it. Let’s just say it involves a sandpit and a snake.) What follows is one of the longest, most repetitive chases in the history of the movies. It’s like Spielberg and his merry band (Producer Lucas and screenwriter David Koepp) couldn’t figure out what to do, so they said “Hell, let’s just put in a big damn chase. Let’s crib from ourselves (tank chase from Last Crusade, anyone?) and make it bigger and louder and longer.”
Not that there isn’t a smidgen here and there to keep a body engaged. Indy pokes into the cab of a truck between the incredulous Marion (Karen Allen) and Mutt (Shia LaBeouf) brandishing a rocket launcher. “Better cover your ears,” he growls. Carnivorous ants swarm over a bad guy, carry him off, and stuff him down their nest. Marion drives an amphibious vehicle over a cliff and onto a tree, which lowers them gently into the water; when it snaps back, it smashes the bad guys, wily-coyote style, into the face of the cliff.
But it all just seems to have been done by the numbers. Indiana leaps multiple times between multiple vehicles. Check. Natives threaten to engulf our heroes and fill ‘em full of poison darts. Check, check. A bad guy is undone by his own greed in the end. Check, check, check.
It was good to see all those old-school stunts, and to see the CGI kept to a minimum. And it was good to see old-school heroes as well, and black-and-white good versus evil, even though we know that it’s rarely the case. And truthfully, it did keep me engaged, if just barely.
But I’d hoped for more. I’d hope for a little originality, within the Indy formula. I’d hoped for a little respect for their faithful audience, and a little less we’ll-throw-in-Marion-and-the-Ark pandering. In short, I’d hoped for a great movie, rather than a merely adequate one. In that I was disappointed.
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The only hopes I had for Indy 4 were for entertainment, and in that respect, it delivered. It was by no means a great film, but I had a good time on a Friday night, and that’s all I really expect out of a summer blockbuster. Yeah, this one was above and beyond unbelievable, but I accept it because it’s Indy.
Rachel, thats about where I’m coming from, as well. Am I sorry I saw it? No. Did I have fun? Yes. But it’s possible to do a summer blockbuster that’s both fun and a good film. Witness Spielberg’s last one, The War of the Worlds: not a great movie, by any means, but a good, solid film.
Thanks for commenting!
I haven’t seen it yet and your review doesn’t assuage any doubts I have. If there’s one thing that can kill an action/adventure movie for me it’s when they overextend the chase. It happens to me so much that I accept that much of it has to do with me wanting chases to be about two minutes long, tops.
But I also think the best action/adventure movies have the best characters and dialogue as well and include many scenes of quiet that heighten the action when it occurs.
I remember seeing Peter Jackson’s King Kong and thinking the dinosaur stampede and T-Rex fight scenes ran WAYYYYY too long. While I found some good stuff after that, the movie was effectively dead for me from that point on.
Jonathan, I know what you mean. The bronto chase in Jackson’s King Kong went on way too long, and was marred by shoddy green-screen work to boot.
Not only were the chases far too long in the new Indy, but it seemed that that’s all there was to the whole movie, one big chase. Certainly, those quiet scenes you describe were few and far between. It has no sense of pace, I guess.
In theory, I agree with both of you regarding chase scenes, but I’m more than willing to give a concession or two to Ronin, which had not one but two excellent chase scenes, each running over five minutes.
As you mention, Rick, the pandering was a killer for me as well. Guess what, guys? I’m not going to like the movie more regardless of how many artifacts you throw in from the prior films or how many fedora shots and whip cracks I get. Those elements only accentuated the earlier films - they didn’t make them.
Award for the day to Fletch for mentioning the best chase scene in the last 20 years.
I agree with your thoughts, Rick, and especially Rachel’s. My expectations were so low that I was pleasantly surprised to be grinning at Indy’s two-fisted punches again. Beyond that I was unmoved, but again, I didn’t expect to be. Just goes to show how little we can expect from modern blockbusters.
By the way, I like your new outfit, Rick. Kind of an earthy, cozy feel to the Creek.
All right … Ronin it is. Although it’s been awhile since I saw it, I seem to remember you guys are right, and that the chase sequences are great.
And I hate pandering as much as Indy hates snakes. And I’m sorry: the lame-o scene with the snakes was the worst pander of them all. Except for the time when Marion stepped out of the tent and said the same words from 1981. Oh, and the ark appearing in the hangar at Area 51. And am I foaming at the mouth, yet?
And, Daniel, I did some grinning myself. And thanks for the tip of the hat to my new skin. I like it meself.