Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

(L-R) Ray Winstone, Shia LeBeouf, and Harrison Ford as George ‘Mac’ Michale, Mutt Williams, and Indiana Jones in ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’. (Photo Courtesy of Paramount Pictures and Disney.)

One particular aspect of storytelling that we and creatives are beginning to learn is quite difficult in nature, is how to properly handle the next chapter in the story when decades have passed since the last chapter and how to properly bring the journey of iconic characters to a close. Simply because… up until the last fifteen years or so… such thoughts were mostly unheard of. Especially in film. Stories and trilogies and sagas in general, would just end and everyone would move onto the next hot thing. But the power of nostalgia and the desire to know what the later years of characters looked like, began a new trend in the business. One where it was suddenly not taboo to revisit stories long thought at their end and open up a new chapter in the tale.
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Where we could see what happened to the characters after years of being away and what the next generation might look like in their universe, and that has brought forth stories that stick the landing and some that don’t and some… that struggle to find their direction and their focus and even struggle to figure out how the next chapter should even look. And one film that fits into that ‘confused’ vein, just so happens to be the next entry in the Indiana Jones saga. For Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, was quite the unexpected surprise. For so many of us thought that perhaps that image of Indiana Jones riding off into the sunset with his father was going to be it for the saga, and we would have been fine with that. But the power of nostalgia and our love of the character, prompted George Lucas and Steven Spielberg to return to Indy’s world, with Harrison Ford at the helm, to see what he’s been up to post Last Crusade, and how his adventures could continue on without him, so everyone could bid Indy farewell.

The result of which… is a very mixed bag of storytelling. The kind that quite frankly, doesn’t feel as organic and as smooth as the other features. Sure, there are off screen surprises that come into play and that’s nothing new in this saga, but for some reason… they feel forced here. As though they’re just ideas that stuck and the only way to make them work is to will them into the story and that is why we aren’t fully comfortable with where Jones is at, at this point in his life, how he meets his son and how he reunites with Marion. It just feels stylized and that’s not something that this series ever worked with before. Not to mention, the gravity of what is introduced here is moved on from quickly, so that the fight against the Russians can get underway and that’s unfortunate. For slowing it down and savoring those moments would have added real depth to everything and likely fixed the other odd problem with this story.

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In that… the next generation or the passing of the torch to Mutt Williams is also handled in a very ham hocked manner. As though the successor to the Jones family adventures is swiftly being handed the keys to the Kingdom, pun slightly intended, and that too… doesn’t work. Because Indiana Jones earned his hero status and earned the love of the audience and while Shia LeBeouf is a fine actor and does well here as a kid caught between a rock and his busted family life, it just doesn’t work. You can tell he is the handpicked replacement and while he probably could have carried the franchise with the right story, such a quick change wasn’t what audiences were expecting. They expected a transition, that time to earn the fedora, and really none of what’s here met expectations. For the audience just wanted the gentle and subtle care that went into the other films, and everything here feels rushed in nature and really… that’s a shame… because there are some amazing elements to like in this movie.
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After all, this is Indiana Jones taking on aliens from another dimension, ‘the space between spaces’ as John Hurt’s character put it so eloquently, and that brings about a supremely mysterious adventure. One that really does unfold in a manner that makes the big reveal worthwhile, and oddly, elevates Indiana’s adventures to new heights since now he’s not only touched God through the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail, and learned of Voodoo, but now he knows we’re not alone in the universe… and that’s a big deal. Not to mention, having the Russians come into play is also quite the delight. Since that too harkens back to classic cinema and some of the big features of the 1980s and 1990s, and well… these are the moments that work and bring us joy and add the saga’s trademark humor and fun to the story. Not to mention, it leads to the most ambitious climax in the history of the franchise to date and well… if the same care had gone into the treasure plot as it did the passing of the torch, we’d be talking about this movie in a different light.

But instead, we are left with a genuinely uneven Indiana Jones film and what’s incredible about that… is that it is extremely watchable and fun, and it does have a loyal following of fans that staunchly defend it, and it received some decent reviews. Because there is a lot to enjoy here. For there are shoutouts to the franchise’s lore, funny and tender moments, incredible action sequences in the finale, an A-list cast and most important of all… we just plain get more Indiana Jones. And Harrison Ford doesn’t miss a beat despite having been away from the character for nineteen years. But fun aside, make no mistake about it… it made everyone question spin-offs for the franchise, and had this been the hard end, it would not have settled with fans well since something about the ending just didn’t feel complete. Hopefully though, that feeling is remedied, and the farewell is handled right when Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny arrives in theaters.  

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