Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
It’s almost been two full decades since Indiana Jones last made an appearance, and making Indiana Jones 4 is certainly a challenge on 66 year old Harrison Ford. Luckily, with some help from the young and energetic Shia LaBeouf, and a good old-school artistic style, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull does not disappoint fans of the classic adventure trilogy.
The film is set in 1957, a time when the U.S. was still under the influence of McCarthyism. That forms an interesting backdrop for the picture, and serves a good does of irony (Indy is accused of being a communist and forced out of his tenure, while he’s being chased around the campus by Russian agents). The plot, stripped to its bare, involves Indy going deep into South America to track down the fabled (you guessed it) Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Other plot elements include an old love from Raiders of the Lost Ark and her son, Cate Blanchett as the antagonist Soviet military scientist (with an professional interest in psychic abilities), an underused John Hurt who portrays a fellow archaeologist, and lots of hidden tombs, traps and lots of skulls.
Never mind the huge plot hole of how can there be whole platoons of Russian agents wandering around the U.S. chasing after Indy – the question barely lingers in your mind as one action sequence after another hit your senses. In a tribute to the earlier films, there are multiple lengthy chases, and unlike most recent popular action films which tend to extensively use flash editing (the Bourne trilogy, Transformers etc.), Indiana Jones 4 is old-school to the bones. The action is clearly depicted, and the camera is steady, which is definitely a refreshing change.
Harrison Ford has definitely aged, and is joked about it in the film by his young sidekick (“What are you? 80?”). Shia LaBeouf seems to be a risky casting at first, but he portrays the renegade young Mutt Williams with a good dose of comical disbelief. And as a major spoiler, audiences will discover that the two characters have a closer relationship then it seems at first. I wonder if there is the possibility of a new series of films with LaBeouf in the central spotlight.
8/10