Cracking the whip!
Indiana Jones returns! This time he is quite old…. but he’s still a badass.
Russians have kidnapped Indiana and his partner in crime, Mac. Led by Colonel Doctor Irina Spalko, the communists are after a sacred skull thought to be not from this world. Not willing to help the reds, Indy escapes and finds himself on yet another great adventure, this time he is needing to get to this possibly mythical skull before the Russians take hold of it. Along the way, he gets help from a new face named Mutt Williams, who is the perfect opposite of a 50’s teenie-bopper. Indy also meets up with an old-face, Marion Ravenwood, who is still slightly bitter from their departure in Indy’s younger days.
I love the concept of this film. When it was announced a couple of years back (no, I won’t hold them to the point of a nearly decade old idea), I was quite the excited bloke. I watched, with Beth Barnes, the now-and-then updates of video on the official site and nearly blew a gasket when the trailer was released. How in the world could they possibly get this wrong? It’s been out there forever, it looks great, Ford looks very-much in shape; there wasn’t anything that looked remotely wrong with this. Well, it certainly turned out good, but not as great as advertised.
The best things about Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is that everyone looked as if they were having fun. Again, Ford looked really in-shape for his typically trying role as Indiana Jones. He seemed as if he wanted to be there, which is more than most actors can say (it’s been nearly 20 years since his last role as Indiana). He performed brilliantly and he performed the older character quite well. Lucas didn’t make any bones about it when he announced he was writing around Indiana Jones’ age. That was a spectacular decision. You shouldn’t try to force a 60+ year old man into a 40+ year old role. It doesn’t work, it doesn’t look right, no one believes it. I think the character written for Ford was perfect, and it humored/humbled the character quite a bit. Now, his counterpart, Mutt Williams (played by Shia LaBeouf) could carry a series of his own. I think most critics online and print are probably drowning in LaBeouf sightings in films lately, but I firmly believe that his character could take over the reigns of the whip and hat. He’s energetic, intelligent (outside of those driving incidents) and perfectly acceptable. He was fun to watch in this film as the student and would be fun to watch in his own film, though his name would need major changing (Mutt Williams Jones and the Parking Lot of Harley Davidsons just doesn’t have that ring to it). As for the rest of the cast, I felt like Cate Blanchett’s character was a bit of a waste. She wasn’t as threatening as the skull, or the large Russian fellow who kicks the crap out of Indy (Igor Jijikine is his name, fascinating fellow), but she does serve the purpose of moving the story along. Karen Allen was merely a bridge in a plot point.
As for the story itself, it was good. It wasn’t as entertaining as the previous stories (minus Temple of Doom, it was more entertaining than that), but it did put us on another adventure and, more importantly, it seemingly wrapped up Indy’s career. Much like Lucas’s recent Star Wars adventures, he’s putting too many plot points in it. Indiana Jones has always been complicated, but ultimately it was only one plot point surrounded by large moments of action. Here, Lucas tries to do too much and ends up dragging the film around a bit. His dialogue was great, for the most part, but his plot points weren’t completely necessary. I’m not going to ruin the Karen Allen/Shia LaBeouf plot point, but just know that could have been done differently. One particular part of the film I didn’t care for too much is the disconnection between John Hurt’s character (Professor Harold Oxley or just ‘Ox’) and Indy. Mutt Williams explains a lot about ‘Ox’, but there isn’t a solid connection between who/what Ox’s relationship with Indy is and how deep it runs. You must establish things like this to get the audience to care about this character; he plays a major role in the overall storyline. Those were my only real complaints.
I heard many people complaining about the effects of the film, but to be honest they really didn’t bother me. I think the days of movie sets and high-priced construction are behind us. Green/Blue screens rule the world (since Jurassic Park) and will continue to do so for some time. Maybe in the future they will revert back, for old-time-sake, but I wouldn’t count on it. Accept this and move on, it certainly wasn’t as distracting as people are making it out to be.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a good film, not a great one. Lucas nearly captures Indiana Jones almost 20 years later, but he misses the mark ever so slightly. I commend him for his efforts and hope he continues the series in some way (there’s plenty of material there). Most importantly, and this will sound insane, I hope he continues to write. The more he writes, the more rust he shakes-off from the process. He is almost there. With his friend, Steven Spielberg (who just plainly appears to be shooting films for fun — which is great!), maybe they can come back with something so fun that it trumps previous Indy films. In the meantime, this is worth your money and your DVD/Blu-ray shelf space.
Blu with envy
Without a doubt, action movies benefit the most from Blu-ray technology. Action movies that are non-stop are the best type of action films to enjoy. Iron Man and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull are prime examples of why you should want Blu-ray in your home. Compared to their DVD counterparts, they exceed the DVD technology ten fold. When you hear the first scene of Indiana Jones and see how beautiful the hot-rod car is screaming across a desert landscape, you know you’re in HD. You feel it, you see it, hell you’re nearly there with them. It literally looks better than the theatrical and DVD version, which is saying a lot considering this day and age. What’s even more impressive is the audio. Audio makes up 90% of a production, without it you can’t really get into the video. 5.1 DTS lossless sound makes for a perfect audio backdrop. You hear the whip, you hear the tiny little fire ants munching on Russians, you hear the atomic explosion…. all in perfect audio configuration and quality.
You cannot call yourself a movie-goer without embracing Blu-ray technology. It is a perfect fit for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
As for the features, they are nothing short of perfect. Again, not to harp on it too much, but credit Blu-ray technology for having the ability to store such a large amount of high-quality video on one disc. 50+ gigabytes isn’t something to scoff at. The features are fantastic, you get a great diary of how things went down from concept to production of the film, all in HD of course. One of the nicer features, though I’m a big softy when it comes to this, is the shout-out they give to the late Stan Winston’s group. Not sure of who he is and what he did? Well, it’s a good time to see an example and later explore his life (google him). Things like that make these set of features perfect. They’re not simply thrown together and placed on a set of discs, rather they are methodically thought out and prepared. You’ll find just a bunch of goodies here, even the galleries (which I usually detest). Here’s what you’re getting:
Disc 1:
· Indiana Jones Timelines— Explore the movie through interactive timelines that include video featurettes, in-depth information and unique imagery. Your adventure begins with one of these three timelines:
o Story Timeline: Showcases the key events of the “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” storyline.
o Production Timeline: A Making-of chronology for “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”.
o Historical Timeline: Dives into the real-world historical influences that are referenced in the film.
· The Return of a Legend—The evolution of the new film and a tribute to the legendary hero and his creators. (HD)
· Pre-Production—Follows Steven Spielberg as he creates animatic sequences, Shia LaBeouf as he learns to swordfight and captures the reunion of filmmakers and cast on the soundstage. (HD)
Disc 2:
· Production Diary: Making Kingdom of the Crystal Skull—Join filmmakers, cast and crew for a complete look at the making of the film.
o Shooting Begins: New Mexico (HD)
o Back To School: New Haven, Connecticut (HD)
o Welcome to the Jungle: Hilo, Hawaii (HD)
o On-Set Action (HD)
o Exploring Akator (HD)
o Wrapping Up! (HD)
· Warrior Makeup (HD)
· The Crystal Skulls (HD)
· Iconic Props (HD)
· The Effects of Indy (HD)
· Adventures in Post Production (HD)
· Closing: Team Indy (HD)
· Pre-Visualization Sequences
o Area 51 Escape (HD)
o Jungle Chase (HD)
o Ants Attack (HD)
· Galleries
o The Art Department
– The Adventure Begins
– Cemetery and Jungle
– Akator
o Stan Winston Studio
– Corpses, Skeletons & Mummies
– Aliens & Crystal Skulls
o Production Photographs
o Portraits
o Behind-the-Scenes Photographs
