Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
In every discussion of the “Indiana Jones” trilogy, the discussion rightfully and invariably gets to the trio of filmmakers largely responsible for the series’ success- George Lucas (the series’ producer and story initiator), Steven Spielberg (the series’ director), and Harrison Ford as the iconic archaeologist himself. But the truth of the matter is, there’s a fourth person whose contribution is equally valuable to the series- Spielberg’s frequent composer, John Williams. Think about it, every time you hear the mention of Indiana Jones, how can you not think of Williams’ iconic march? Or the rhythmic precision of the music during the desert truck chase in “Raiders of the Lost Ark?” Or the quiet romanticism in “Marion’s Theme?” Or the mystical qualities in his music for the Ark and the Holy Grail? Ford’s personification of Jones may be the starting point for the action, but Williams’ music drives it as effortlessly as Spielberg’s direction captures it.
Now, after 19 years, this Fab Four of cinema (let’s face it, all are at least as big as the Beatles) is back with another adventure yarn with the good professor back in his leather jacket, fedora, and armed with his bullwhip on the search for another mythical artifact. No movie has been this largely anticipated since Lucas’ “Star Wars” prequel trilogy began in 1999 with “The Phantom Menace.” Like that film, though, no movie has been under the microscope quite like Indy’s fourth big screen outing. I’ve been keeping away from most advanced word of the film, from its’ secretive production schedule to its’ recent premiere at Cannes and the mixed reviews that followed.
Having now seen it for myself at a packed midnight show, what did I think? It was worth the wait. While it doesn’t match up with 1981’s all-time classic series starter “Raiders of the Lost Ark” or 1989’s delightful trilogy bookend “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” it does hold its’ own with the series’ second film- 1984’s much-maligned (but still fun in that Saturday morning serial kind of way) “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”- as being solid entertainment even if it isn’t any of the involved filmmaker’s best work. For Spielberg, it’s a considerable step down from the artistic high he’s been riding (largely…I’m trying to forget “The Lost World: Jurassic Park” even exists) since his 1993 masterpiece “Schindler’s List” and most recently added to in his duel 2005 films “War of the Worlds” and “Munich.” For Lucas, under the gun of geeks everywhere for the artificial feeling of his “Star Wars” prequel trilogy, “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”- for the less-snobby viewer- will be seen as some sense of redemption. For Ford, whose recent films (“K-19,” “Firewall”) hardly hold a candle to his bigger and better films like “Air Force One” and “Patriot Games,” another adventure as Indy is a risk (can we buy the 65 year-old as an adventure hero?) with rewards (a return to the box-office success Indy and “Star Wars'” Han Solo brought him).
But prestige is the last thing on any of these guys minds in bringing back the good Dr. Jones, last seen riding off in the sunset with his father (the peerless Sean Connery, who turned down a reprisal opportunity to enjoy his retirement) and friends (the late Denholm Elliot as Brody and John Rhyes-Davies as Sallah). A fourth Indy adventure of course has its’ financial rewards for both filmmakers and studio Paramount, but more than that, there’s a feeling of friends getting together to share a beer and reminisce about the good ol’ days to the film that’s hard not to get swept up in. This is about doing something everyone enjoys, not doing something important. It’s about fun, adventure, and recapturing a piece of your youth. To the people badmouthing the film, I’ve gotta ask- what the Hell were you expecting?
As the film opens, a group of KGB agents- led by a dominatrix-looking Cate Blanchett as icy Russian leader Irina Spalko- break into a highly classified military base in 1957 Nevada. In tow are our man Indy and fellow archaeologist Mac McHale (Ray Winstone); Irina’s wanting Indy to find- in a warehouse full of unmarked crates- something he came across 10 years earlier on an expedition. If you’ve read anything about the film you probably already have an idea as to what it is, so I’ll forgo the traditional description of plot details and say that what they find leads them on a search for the legendary Crystal Skulls, 13 mystical artifacts with “paranormal” properties that have something to do with the mysterious El Dorado, the fabled City of Gold. Along the way from Nevada to the depths of the Amazon, Indy finds himself with an old flame (“Raiders'” spunky Marion Ravenwood, with a return performance by Karen Allen), a Brando-wanna Wild One in ’50s teen Mutt Williams (Spielberg’s golden child Shia LaBeouf), and an old mentor in Professor Oxley (John Hurt) in tow and Russians in hot pursuit. Just like the good ol’ days, eh? Only this time, no Nazis.
Like the other films in the series, “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”- which went through many script drafts (including unused ones by “Shawshank Redemption” writer, and “Young Indiana Jones Chronicles” vet, Frank Darabont and credited storywriter (with Lucas) Jeff Nathanson) before the big three in the franchise agreed on a pass by “Jurassic Park” co-writer David Koepp- is a series of misadventures and close calls for Jones and his partners, with one damn thing leading to another damn thing. If it isn’t Russians it’s an army of the living dead. If it’s not scorpions it’s flesh-eating ants. If it’s not a cliff it’s a waterfall. If it’s not a staircase that is quickly disappearing it’s a nuclear test site. The important thing isn’t logic, but how the action serves to further the story. And ok, you can argue that none of the set pieces hold a candle to “Raiders'” truck chase or rolling boulder, “Temple of Doom’s” mine car chase, or “Last Crusade’s” tank battle, but Spielberg and longtime editor Michael Kahn keep the pace fast and faster as Indy and Mutt dodge the government by motorcycling through the university; Indy and co. and the Russians pass off the Crystal Skull between dueling jeeps; and lots of running away from things and ducking obstacles, ’cause in the end- as Lucas has said- Indy’s a guy who always seems to be in over his head. Could that be the secret of his success? It can’t hurt.
All I could really ask from the movie is three things- an interesting story (which Lucas and Nathanson provide via Koepp’s tone-perfect screenplay), good action (which Spielberg and co., including cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, harkening back- in his lighting setup- to the work by previous “Indy” lenser Douglas Slocombe, provide, even if things feel a little fake at time…but as my friend Dave said last night afterwards, that might have been intentional, such as the tone of the series), and a great score. And on that front, Williams had me at the first notes of the “Raiders March.” What joy to see and hear he and Spielberg recapture that sense of vintage Indy excitement after 15 years of branching out into darker and more daring territory in their collaborations. Though what stands out immediately in Williams’ score are the familiar themes like the march and Marion’s theme, the master composer follows suit with the remainder of his scores for the series with sinuous cues capable of raising the hairs on your neck and rhythmic action music to accompany the adventure taking place onscreen. Like his collaborators, Williams isn’t looking for prestige, he’s looking to have a damn good time delivering what is fundamentally a musical pulp tone poem. From the sound of his score, you can tell he’s having the time of his life.
But in the end, the success of the “Indiana Jones” franchise rests on the whip and quick-thinking of Jones himself. There may be more mileage under the hood, and more gray hair on his head, but nothing else seems to have changed for Indy. He’s still great and getting himself in quicksand, both literally and figuratively. This is the most fun Ford has had onscreen in years (and his onscreen dynamic with LaBeouf is one of the movie’s strongest qualities), but then again, Indy’s always been his favorite character, or at least he seems to be. One of the things that’s always intrigued him about the idea of return to Indy is looking at how a character like him ages, since most serial heroes like this (i.e. James Bond) stay the same age from film to film. Well, he may not always be graceful in his approach to the job, but this is one character that has aged like a fine wine. And while the films he inhabits may not get better with age- “Crystal Skull” is a minor entertainment in the Spielberg canon- his character certainly does. Welcome back Indy. I didn’t realize how much moviegoing has missed you.
