"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull": 0 out of 4 Stars
Campbell Housh
The movies in the Indiana Jones trilogy are some of the most well-known and respected movies in all of Hollywood. Yes, you heard me right, trilogy. I don't even consider "The Crystal Skull" part of the Indiana Jones series because it is so absolutely horrendous that it almost tarnishes all of my memories of the other three. You can tell that movies put on 20+ years after the originals are just made to scrape up some extra cash based on the success of prior films (Star Wars I-III, anyone?). It wasn't little things that tore this movie apart, it was how the whole entire concept of this particular treasure hunt was so weird and unlike past films that no amount of stellar acting could save it. I have great respect for Harrison Ford, and do not blame him in the least (you cant really say no to Indiana Jones 4, no matter what the plot). But I do not know what Steven Speilberg and George Lucas were thinking when they came up with a plot that centered around aliens, of all things. Seriously, when people think of Indiana Jones, they think of legendary artifacts and historical relevance, not some Sci-Fi centered twist! The fact that the plot was about aliens ruined the whole experience for me. I was so amped up to see an Indiana Jones movie in theaters but came out totally exasperated. Instead of the Ark of the Covenant or the Holy Grail, the treasure in this movie is "ultimate knowledge"! The Indiana Jones faithful don't want that! We need a relic that is priceless and something every archeologist would dream of, not a freakin flying saucer! If the writers of this movie would have replaced everything alien with, for example, and Aztec god, then the movie would have been great! The bottom line is that Spielberg and Lucas tried to dig too deep when a simple idea like the one I just thought of would have satisfied every Indy fan out there. We just wanted to reminisce and re-live the Indiana Jones experience. This whole experience just goes to show that directors don't need to overthink or change their autopilot for adding on to a classic idea, they just need to show us the same characters and idea that we know and love.
1 comment:
I did not see the fourth installment of the Indiana Jones series, and your review of it makes me want to prolong it's viewing as long as possible. How can aliens relate in any way to the classic story of Indiana Jones, who treasure hunts for gold and artifacts not alien things. I think your review of the movie hits the right spot and the questioning of the directors is very key.
Post a Comment