Minute44 - Dan Schonhaar

Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Karren Allen, Shia LaBeouf, Ray Winstone

After a 19 year hiatus from the silver screen, everyone’s favourite archaeologist and adventurer returns. On the trail of a mythical city of solid gold, Indy and his new found sidekick Mutt Williams (LaBeouf) must seek out a lost crystal skull, said to have untold power. Hot on his tail, however is Irina Spalko, a Russian scientist and lunatic obsessed with the possibility of psychic warfare. Indy must not only find the skull and city of gold before they fall into the hands of those pesky reds but he must also deal with some hard-hitting surprises a lot closer to home.

I got some free guest passes to see this movie but, to be honest, I would have been happy to pay full price. Indiana Jones has always been one of my all time favourite movie characters and I have loved every one of the original trilogy. No surprise then, that I have been practically shaking with excitement about the release of ‘Crystal Skull for months now. However, as much as I was excited about it, I was also incredibly worried, as I know many Indiana Jones fans were. You see, big studios have a knack for messing up a good thing that should be left the hell alone. What sets this fourth installment of Indiana Jones apart, though is that all of the major original production team are back; Stephen Spielberg heads up proceedings, George Lucas wrote it and John Williams returned to do the score. Also, as well as Harrison Ford returning as Indy, Karren Allen makes a come back as her character from Raiders of the Lost Ark, Marrion Ravenwood.

I do want to clear something up right now though… This is not an Indiana Jones movie like the original trilogy, It is a different breed of animal that draws it’s differences from the fact that we no longer live in the 80s and the film is no longer set in the 30s. If you want to watch Raiders of the Lost Ark, watch Raiders of the Lost Ark. This can’t really be called the 4th in a series, it is more like a new movie with nods to it’s predecessors and personally, I liked it. It was a fun, fast-paced romp with plenty of action, humour and the over the top, far fetched story we’ve come to expect from Indiana Jones. Plenty of people at IMDB and RottenTomatoes.com have slated this film for the very reasons that it is a success… I just don’t get that.

The story, again is very different to what we’ve seen from Indy in the past but it has enough in common to keep the characters alive. This time we see a very sci-fi esque theme, something George Lucas knows a thing or two about, which adds something fresh and original to what could have been a quite tired regurgitation of the “seek mythical religious artefact and kill bad guys on the way” formula. Again, I can’t see what people are bitching about. As it stands, I thought the plot stood up well and was certainly worthy of the great Dr. Jones. While on the subject of the title character, he’s changed too. Not for the better, yet not for the worst either… he’s just changed the way that people do over 20 years. He’s much more calm and mature (though he can still throw hands with soldiers half his age!) but still has that sarcastic dry wit we’ve come to love.

Casting, couldn’t have been better. Excellent choices were made as far as supporting cast goes with Blanchett as Spalko being particularly good and very, very “Indy”. Ray Winstone was as charismatic as ever and John Hurt, despite having little dialogue was superb in his role. Karren Allen returning as Marion Ravenwood was nice to see, especially as her character remained the same as the last time we saw her, feisty, argumentative and independent. LaBeouf as Mutt Williams was excellent, a big relief as, to my mind, it would have been LaBeouf, if anyone, that ruined the picture. He starts out as a bit of an ass hole with an Ark of the Covenant sized chip on his shoulder but soon becomes a very witty and likable character who is extremely reminiscent of a young Indy.

The film isn’t without it’s flaws, however. The climax seemed slightly too over the top, even for Indy and some of his miraculous escapes from almost certain death were a stretch. I can’t hold these shortcomings against this latest outing too much though because it’s not like the original trilogy didn’t have it’s “yeah, right!” moments and I gotta say, it felt nice to be able to suspend belief for two hours and just have some fun.

Over all, I have to say ‘Crystal Skull was my least favourite of all the Indiana Jones movies to date but then again it was always going to be. It had the impossible task of breaking through 20 years of nostalgia. That said, it was still a very very good adventure movie with a character that, even today, leaves Lara Croft and Benjamin Gates standing. The plot, although far fetched, still beats the hell out of anything we’ve seen from Tomb Raider or National Treasure, Indy’s modern day counterparts. I disagree with what so many have said about it being a film that any true Indy fan won’t like. I think if you accept that this is 20 years on in REAL LIFE as well as movie world, you can enjoy this as much as the original trilogy.

Verdict: