Review of the 2008 film 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'

I must admit when I heard that there was a new Indiana Jones film being released, I was a little apprehensive. This lifted somewhat when I heard that it was still going to be Harrison Ford, but I was still concerned that they would change the atmosphere, make it a camped-up slapstick comedy flick, with little else to recommend it. Alternatively I thought it might take itself too seriously, and ruin the light-hearted drama of the original trilogy.

I needn’t have worried. It seems that Steven Spielberg and George Lucas remain safe hands when it comes to Henry Jones Jr.

This film captured the atmosphere of the original movies almost effortlessly. Allowances were made for the fact that Indie was older than in the first films, and the occasional reference was made to his previous adventures, but there was the same balance of action and comedy, with the same one-liners that we’ve come to expect.

It’s been a while since I saw the original film, though I remember most of them quite well. The ending of this film is no more sane than those, and some of the scenes have stepped well clear of the line between fiction and fantasy. But Indiana Jones was never about sanity, and the plot lines were never firmly rooted in our reality, so this much did not bother me. There was some inconsistencies, which were a little troubling, and a few scenes that seemed to border on the gratuitous: perhaps the result of a brainstorming session between fans who suddenly find themselves as script-writers, all saying “You know what we should do!”. The ending was about as far-fetched as could be allowed in a movie that was, still, set mostly in our reality, and suffered a little from Hollywood cheese.

However, I went into the film expecting to be entertained, and I was not disappointed. Characters both old and new were wonderfully acted and portrayed, and the on-screen chemistry between those characters made it much easier to forgive the more outlandish adventuring. It was also incredibly refreshing to have a love interest that wasn’t a twenty-something supermodel, inexplicably attracted to the much older Indiana (although I’d be lying if I said I didn’t see the appeal).

All in all I recommend this latest in the Indiana Jones saga to fans of the originals, and newcomers alike. It was a thoroughly entertaining adventure story, with an incredibly charismatic and strangely believable lead. Forgive the fantasy, and enjoy the thrill ride.