League of Movies (Fourth Edition | Week 03): Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Harrison Ford was an actor that had a great impact on my life having starred in two of the most important franchises of all time, he is the icon of a lifetime. Han Solo is one of his most beloved roles, but to me, Indiana Jones was the role that made him a legend.
I remember watching the India Jones films when I was little and then a teenager, it sparked a love in me for archeology and it provided me with an amazing journey in each one of the installments of the trilogy.
I was very excited for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull as it not only was going to bring Harrison Ford in this role once again but because I would be able to take my daughter to the cinema to watch it, she was around 10 years old at the time and I wanted her to experience the magic of an Indiana Jones film.
The Plot
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a 2008 action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by George Lucas, being the fourth installment in the Indiana Jones franchise.
It's set in 1957 during the Cold War where a young man named Mutt Williams asks for the help of our hero Indiana Jones, a famous archeologist, to help him find the legendary Crystal Skull of Akator via a coded message from Professor Harold Oxley, Indiana's old colleague that disappeared while looking for the skull. Russian agent Irina Spalko and the soviets follow our heroes and try to get this mysterious artifact before they do, as they think it'll give them immense power to be able to win the war.
A Lackluster Adventure
This is definitely not one of the worst movies ever made or anything like that, it's just that the main trilogy felt extremely solid and this new installment was only made with the intent to revive the franchise since it does indeed make a lot of money.
Similarly to how fans of Star Wars reacted to the new movies, this is exactly how I felt with Kindom of the Crystal Skull. It's a decent action movie, but it's by no means a truly Indiana Jones film, you can feel that many of the decisions were mainly based on copying what was popular at the moment and they just slapped Harrison Ford there to make it an Indiana movie.
Harrison Ford works amazingly as Indiana, as always, but that is not enough to save this film.
The core of this franchise revolved a lot in practical effects, however, as this was a more modern film, they decided on using CGI, which perhaps took a lot of the style that made it so distinct. This movie looks glossy and bright, whereas the main trilogy had a distinct "dirty" look that worked perfectly with the archeology adventure vibe. It also implemented a lot of frankly ridiculous ideas, involving Aliens and wacky Russian agents.
I'm not asking for a lot of realism this Indiana Jones gets himself in impossible situations and saves himself in the nick of time, but they took it way too far to the point that it looked cartoony and not like an epic adventure.
A Forgettable Film
Steven Spielberg and George Lucas are extremely talented, so it truly baffles me that they couldn't come up with something better for this film. I think the main idea for Kingdom of Crystal Skull was to continue with a series of movies with Mutt as the main character, as the new "Indiana Jones", however, I found his character to be very forgettable and I'm sure I'm not the only one who thought so.
This movie was a disappointment and to be honest, even though it's not the worst and it can be a fun popcorn movie, I expected a lot more from Indiana Jones and its legacy, especially since there were such big names in the making of it.
The Last Crusade would've ended the franchise on a high note, they should have left this trilogy alone so that it could remain as a legend. If they wanted to bring it back, a reboot would've been a better idea. I hope the 5th film that is supposed to come out in 2021 manages to be better, however, my hopes are not as high anymore.
This is a film that I do not recommend and which disappointed me, as I was expecting something more, I encourage you to watch the main trilogy, as it is a lot of fun and it truly holds up with the passage of time.
This is an entry for League of Movies (HIVE WRITING CONTEST): Fourth Edition | Week 03 - "Oh, no... They did it!" sponsored by @wiseagent
Even though I'm an unconditional Steven Spielberg fan, I have to agree that this movie (even with a such nice cast) was a big mistake. I was very disappointed when I watched it in the cinemas. =/
Good luck in the contest, @rnunez09.
Indeed, I was excited to watch this with my daughter, but I knew that even to her it was a forgettable film. Even Steven Spielberg and George Lucas can make a film that is not so great.
I'm not sure what type of future this franchise holds, but I hope the new movie is a better one.
Have a nice day, my friend!
The Indiana Jones trilogy is perfect, this must be one of my favorite characters which I almost never say out loud, but I'm faithful to those three movies, it's pure adventure and a lot of fun.
Now with this movie, I think I saw it only once or tried to see it, I did not want to see Harrison Ford playing this character with the age he has, it is difficult to believe that I can do everything this character does and just think that it is enough, but still I will wait to see what they show with the fifth installment that I do not know when it will come out, this is the problem of being a fan of cinema and this type of characters, we always expect the best with high expectations
Yes! Exactly that. Franchise fatigue is something that exists, yet we still watch the new film even though we know we don't need it because we want to feel that magic once again... Sometimes they do make amazing new movies, but it's rare, that's kind of what happened with Star Wars too, they are not the worst films, but as fans, we want more.