I respectfully disagree. I found it to be rather excellent, flawed but great entertainment. Here's my review:
Indy's back! Finally, after almost 20 years since CRUSADE, Spielberg, Ford and Lucas have teamed up to deliver another exciting chapter to the world's most famous archeologist.
In this film, Indy is abducted, early on, by the Russians to tell them about a hidden US property which he last saw, presumably 10 years ago. After he escapes them, he's "fired" from the University, after the FBI had made it clear that he's a suspect for being a Red (Russian) operative. As he's about to leave for his final retirement, a boy named Mutt Williams (Shia LeBouf) encounters him, telling him his mother and their common friend, Harold Oxley (John Hurt), disappeared after Oxley discovered a crystal skull in Peru. That legendary Crystal Skull is said to grant a special power to whoever finds and returns it, to its Kingdom. So now Indy is a race against time to find and recover that Crystal Skull, while also stop the Russians from getting it, as well as find his old friend and colleague Oxley, as well as his old flame, Marion (Karren Allen), who turns out to be Mutt's mother...
One might ask if a sequel to a sequel, with 30 years inbetween, would ever garner any success on any level. KINGDOM comes out, as said, almost twenty years after CRUSADE. So is it a victim of time? A victim of worn-out imagination and lost interest?
No. It is not. KINGDOM is a highly entertaining, mesmerizing even picture. Its also different from the other INDY's, but the same. Its a little bit more outlandish than the previous ones, but its still rooted to the same principles that made the originals so memorable and enduring. Its still an Indiana Jones film, and thats what matters.
KINGDOM is also the first Indy to master a good balance between the action and the comedy. Whereas TEMPLE was too dark and almost devoid of humor (forget the occassional dark humor), and CRUSADE too light, I believe KIGDOM has found that balance that made RAIDERS to most attractive of the bunch. Its filled with many action scenes, but nowhere did I feel the humor was too much or too little. It was just about the right amount. And perhaps it was wise they didn't repeat CRUSADE in that respect, as too much humour might've been too much - especially since in at least one case, it was too much (I'll mention it later). That said, its also the least brutal of all films, though not entirely without its grit.
And talking about action... Yes! This is some genuine, classic Spielberg action of old. Films like MINORITY REPORT and WAR OF THE WORLDS demonstrate Spielberg's sense of 21st century action, but Indy never needed such modernizing, and he knows it. How he shows it? With loads and loads of interesting action scenes that kept me interested, throughout, with my favorite of which being that multi-track scenes that eventually run along the cliff. There are traditionally made, rough-around-the-edges action scenes, with minimal CGI usage, at best, and I really LOVED them, they were consistently fun and exciting.
Once again, the cast and crew are to be congratulated for this magnificent effort. The score, the photography and the designs, all ring true to the franchise's legacy, and they are all wonderful in their own way. While I miss Slocombe's eye, Kaminski's effort is just as nice, not betraying his predecessor's perception of the illastrious world that Spielberg and Lucas had formatted. And I'm pleased to say, John Williams has yet to make a bad score.
Now, the cast is, for the most part, wonderful. With possible exception of John Hurt, who really didn't have a lot to do but jump around like a hypnotized crazy old man (which he was in the film), the rest of the cast is quite noteworthy. Kate Blanchett and Ray Winstone, the film's baddies, are quite good. Blancett is actually the better of the two, as expected, as she portrays Irina Spalko, with a true and honest sense of wonder of the power that the Crystal Skull may hide. As far as I am concerned, she's a lot better as the foreign-villain than either Michael Byrne (Colonel Vogel from CRUSADE) or Amrish Puri (Mola Ram from TEMPLE), and I find her better than even Wolf Kahler (Colonel Dietrich from RAIDERS), though not by much. Ray Winstone is fine as "Mac" MacHale, interesting in the beggining, and the whole thing with the double-triple agent was actually interestingly portrayed. I was actually surprised with the doiuble agent revelation, and I'm not usually easily surprised (oh, modesty is me..). And despite betraying Indy, multiple times, he still cares for him, even betraying his fondness for him when Irina almost allows Indy to be completely absorbed by the Crystal Skull. Jim Broadbent plays Dean Charles Stanforth, and he actually manages to be quite memorable in his small part, despite being, in my understanding, a replacement for Connery's rejected cameo. But despite that, I like this new character, as Broadbent gives nice layers of morals and obligation, earning our trust and sympathy for him, almost instantly.
Each film, according to Lucas in the mid 80's, should've provided Indy with a new love interest. But, Spielberg always knew that Marion was THE Indy woman. And seeing Karren Allen back as Marion Ravenwood-Williams is a
real treat - her chemistry with Ford seemingly resuming from their RAIDERS's repertuire (spell), as if 1981 was yesterday, an effortless endeavour that truly ups the film's enjoyment a great deal. Truly, the film validates, once and for all, why is Marion the best of Indy's love interests, and also one of the greatest female leads in cinema history. And whats best, she's not in it for the cameo - no, she's there for the whole journey. I really loved seeing her back - as Indy says in one of the best lines of the film "There've been a few (women in my life throught the years), but they all had the same problem: They weren't you, sweetheart!" And believe me, everybody in the cinema, as I looked, smiled as much as she did. As did I.
Much has been said about Shia LeBouf as Mutt Williams. LeBouf presents with a character that is clearly, a representative of his time. Its interesting and a rather smart choice for him go all Brando ala THE WILD ONE, as it shows the clear difference of time and understanding between Indiana and Mutt. He turns out to actually be, a fine performer, showcasing good skill in his action scenes and some good relevance in the talky scenes. I was originally slightly worried of having him in such a high calibre film, but he actually does fine.
And his relationship with Indy, being one of the focus of the film, is interesting. Though not informing us outright that he's Indy's son, Spielberg nevertheless goes the extra mile to present a father-son dynamic that mirrors the Henry-Indiana one, with lots of similarities, but also differences. One such is when Indy and Mutt are after the Russians early in the film, and the chase ends with the head of the memorial statue dedicated to Brody falls inside the enemy's car. Mutt smiles, happy to see the chase ending in such a light tone, while Indy looks rather pissed, and rather unimpressed. I wouldn't find it too out-there if Ford practiced that face look from CRUSADE, as I was really reminded of Connery's own unimpression on Indy in a couple of moments in CRUSADE. Spielberg also isn't afraid to show Mutt as being a man of action, who can fense and hold his own when needed, and while no Indy, he does well.
But no matter how well Shia LeBouf does, we all go to the theatres for one reason, and one reason only: Harrison Ford. Despite not having made a film worth a salt since 1993's FUGITIVE, his charm and presence was always one that survived the less-than-impressive films that he's made since. Whats actually cool, is that he's actually into something worth his salt, this time. He's EXCELLENT in this film. As excellent as in all others, and dare-say, a little more interesting. The double-agent references and the overall rediscovery theme thats attached to him, serves him well. Ford is, again, the most excellent thing in this film - as he should be. And yes, I liked his "Russians" line!
Sadly missed are franchise-regulars Denholm Elliot as Marcus Brody and John Rys-Davis as Sallah. Elliot died in 1992, by AIDS, but the film pays him a fitting tribute throughout, with a painting, a photograph in Indy's desk, and a big statue that actually plays a nice little comedy, in the best of tradition for this beloved character. Though I understand Rys-Davis's character has no role in the film, I'd still have liked to have seen him, but oh, well. And the filmmakers also don't forget Connery - who appers through a photograph, once again in Indy's desk. And Indy's "somewhere, up there, grandpa must be smiling" is a wonderful tribute to the actor and the character, in my opinion.
Come to think of it, its interesting how the film pays tribute to its own franchise, while never feeling cheap or unimaginative while at it. I was also relieved to see how the feel of the previous films survived in this film. Indeed, the film does reflect on its past, in an effort to reconnect audiences with the previous ones, while also validating its place in the franchise. It shows confidence and ease on the filmmakers's part to be able to able to play with the histories of the characters and present with them their next step, without much difficulty.
Because the film is about rediscovery. Harrison Ford very well plays him as an older man, a man who suffered in WWII as he experienced it as a double agent, putting his life on the line and eventually, years later, having to be questioned as to whether his loalties to the US are true or false. In a time when the US
were bordering to paranoia and were seeing Reds all over the place, Indy's place in today's world is in question, and its a very interesting dillema that its put on Indy. Indy's lost both his dad and Brody, and soon his job because of the insanity of the times, its natural for him to feel as if his days are behind him, and he knows it as well as we get to do. However, when Oxley's in danger, he doesn't waste time to jump on the thing that he loves to do - archeology. Seek the McGuffin, find the McGuffin and end of story. Its that simple, and not. And as soon as he finds Marion again, he realizes his feelings for her. Its no stranger that this film ends how it ends - with closure to the past, and an opening to the future. Finally, Indy has found himself, and in the process, changed his life.
And whats best about the film's theme, the key to its success, is that it doesn't play sentimentally as others would've made the mistake to have it play out. Its encrypted within the film itself, its not stated outloud, as well as it should - after all, its not INDIANA JONES AND THE CHANCE TO REDISCOVER. Its a pure action-adventure film, that delves into the character's history and emerges victorious, because of its desire to deliver all elements.
But with all the good to be told, I can't say this film doesn't have its fault. For all its good merits, the film's script is, at times, problematic. The scene where Marion tells Indy about Mutt plays too soon after their escape, and Indy's plea to Oxly to bring help is even more puzzling, given that the only people around, are the Russians. I was really unimpressed by John Hurt overall performance, and I blame the writing there, as well. He's just one-note with nothing else to do but shout plot points and elements. I wasn't annoyed, to say, but given everyone else's efforts, it was sorta shortcoming. Also, the Mutt-aping-Tarzan scene wasn't very interesting, and it could've been edited to be less, well, silly than it was.
But aside those petty complaints, the film respects history of the character, and its a fine adventure film on its own - perhaps the purest action adventure film in, well, ages. And for that reason, for Ford and Lucas and Spielberg's respect to the franchise these three built, and for their incredible effort to create a new INDY worthy of the rest of them, I thank them.
Overall, a highly entertaining movie, and a great sequel, which while not as brilliant as RAIDERS or CRUSADE, is still a worthy effort, providing with the best balance of action and comedy since RAIDERS and a fine narrative that kept me interested, throughtout. The sci-fi elements in the film, BTW, are not bothersome and while they lack the spiritual level of the earlier ones, it keeps with the era of film it represents, and furthermore doesn't go over the top (thanks Spielberg and Ford!).
Finally, I wanted to say how nice of the filmmakers to round RAIDERS and CRUSADE off with this story, making them a trilogy of sorts. I mean, the Lost Ark cameo kind of indicates this, doesn't it? I can't wait to see this one on theatres again, and on DVD later on with all the others. Anyway, kudos, segnor Spielbergo.
Kudos!
out of 
Linear Mode
