An aging Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) teaches at a university and lives a quiet life. But it's the 1950s and America is in hysteria about Soviet and Communist agents. One day he is kidnapped by a group of Russian agents led by a strange scientist, Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), who is accompanied by several Russian soldiers who are searching for a strange box on an American base. Indiana manages to free himself from captivity. The whole affair only brings him trouble when he is investigated by the US Secret Service. As a result of this investigation, Indiana is expelled from the university. However, at that time, he is sought out by a young man, Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf), who asks him to help his stepfather, Professor Oxley (John Hurt), and his mother, Marion (Karen Allen), who have gone to South America in search of a mysterious crystal skull….
After the phenomenal Last Crusade and the final ride off into the sunset, Henry Jones Jr.'s next adventure would, However, it was true that The Last Crusade had set the bar too high and the promises of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas were, among other things, in the speeches about trying to come up with a strong enough script, which is why the third and fourth Indiana Jones adventures are 19 years apart. Only to then end up, for a significant number, preferring the Indy film series to end with The Last Crusade, and the supplement, which was not without a large helping of digital effects and aliens, was branded by many as a bad dream, by others as rape (as episode 8 of the 12th season of South Park Town, for example, could demonstrate). Years later, however, The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull still manages to find plenty of fans; moreover, the initial not-so-positive response to the fifth Indy film, subtitled Instrument of Destiny, may indicate that a few people will quickly take The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull to their hearts' content. Yet this reprieve should surely have come much sooner. The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull may understandably be seen as the black sheep of the franchise in several respects, but it's certainly not necessarily taken purely in a negative light.
Steven Spielberg managed the impossible in 2008, bringing back the adventurous feel that the franchise had in its original three films after a 19-year hiatus. The jump to the 1950s may have replaced the Nazis with the Soviets, and instead of fantasy elements, The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull relies on outright sci-fi elements, but Spielberg has still managed to make a fantastic adventure that, like the original three films, is not lacking in adventure, humour, creative ideas and just the right amount of hyperbole. Indeed, as originally planned, both Spielberg and Lucas created their own James Bond, whose adventures began to be bound together by a portion of trademarks that came after a 19-year hiatus. The nostalgia kicks in with Indy's first appearance on the scene, the minor return of the titular McGuffin from the original film, the reminiscing about the late duo of Marcus Brody and Henry Jones Sr. and the attempt to portray that Indy might have belonged to the old guard in the eyes of many after all.
Harrison Ford, at 64, may have already raised eyebrows in his return to the role of the archaeologist with the iconic fedora and whip, but few Hollywood veterans have quite the roots Ford does. From the get-go in Hangar/Range 51, the return of the iconic hero is a delight, as expected his older age is then the key to several jokes, after all, it turns out he didn't have to be shy at all in an action position at 64. The chemistry with Mutt Williams, played by Shia LaBeouf, also begins to resemble that between Indy and his father, played by Sean Connery in The Last Crusade, thanks to one minor revelation, and sympathetically shows that the jump to 1957 with Indy really did its work. Indy may have aged 19 years as a result, but he certainly hasn't lost a lot of his likable qualities, and Ford managed to give the impression even then that he definitely enjoyed returning to his most iconic role, even in his older knees.
Kingdom manages to build a good atmosphere from the early onset of Elvis, followed by a connection to atomic bomb testing, with this sequence in particular hinting at how much the viewer should relate to the fourth Indy. The Indiana Jones franchise has never wallowed too much in realism, but the fourth Indy really goes the extra mile, and one doesn't necessarily just pause at the scene with the legendary refrigerator. It's simply an overblown adventure film that, through its period setting, tries to sell an homage to the sci-fi affairs of the 1950s, to introduce a then-potential successor who would have wanted to be something between James Dean and Marlon Brando (Shia LaBeouf at a time when he was predicted to have a promising future), and to introduce a main villain who seems so overblown and yet is played so phenomenally. Cate Blanchett gave it her all with her Irina Spalko accent alone, with this combination of Russian scientist and Soviet Milady paying for the most distinctive villain of the entire franchise so far. Where does René Belloq or Mola Ram fit in.
The return of Marion Ravenwood, who through the return of Karen Allen becomes the most judgmental woman in Indy's life, is also pleasing, as is Ray Winstone as Mac, a sort of blend of Sallah and René Belloq, as is John Hurt, when few other British talents could have played a character as out of his senses with such conviction. The biggest star, however, remains the masterful narrator Steven Spielberg. He may have come a long way between The Last Crusade and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, picking up two Oscars for directing in the process, but he still manages to give the impression that the director of the original three films is actually behind the camera, but thanks to Spielberg's batch of digital ants, monkeys and aliens, there's a pleasant whiff of the old days.
The fourth Indy may indeed have come too late (the prologue of the fifth Indy, set in 1944 with a digitally rejuvenated Ford, is sure to cause some melancholy), yet all the magic certainly hasn't gone away as easily as it might have seemed. John Williams, who virtually can never disappoint as a composer, was still back after all. A re-creation of Indiana Jones, who, as expected, has changed a bit as the years have gone by and yet remains the beloved hero, just with some character variations. The Cold War backdrop is capably involved in the details, plus an ideally decent punchline to the title character's story and a functional hint of potential iron passing at the end. The higher species plot may still annoy some to this day, and many will blame Lucas for it quite possibly more than Jar Jar until the day they die, but it must be said that the existence of the Indiana Jones franchise cannot necessarily be seen as only going back to 1989. Indeed, even 2008 produced a terrible blockbuster.
It will thus be genuinely interesting to see whether the apparently painful qualities of Instrument of Destiny will have any effect on audiences' attitudes towards The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and whether some will actually take to the fourth Indy. Thus, supporters of the four will have one more reason to like the five, despite the fact that if a disaster of gargantuan proportions were to actually strike, directed by James Mangold. All bad things for good ? What is certain is that Steven Spielberg certainly didn't bid his iconic hero a shameful farewell in 2008. On the contrary, he actually managed to deliver a terrific combination of old and new school blockbuster that could have easily ended up as utter rubbish and in fact largely is. However, it's still a piece of trash with heart, capable period quoting, and definitely still a batch of solid ideas. Maybe give The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull another chance after all these years, it might manage to pleasantly surprise you in hindsight!
Verdict: 5 out of 5
Original release of this article June 23, 2023 – Kritiky.cz
