Close encounters of the Indy kind

Let’s set things straight from the outset. I loved all the Indiana Jones films. Raiders, Temple of Doom and Last Crusade all bring back great memories of film watching. I turned my boys into them, and they thoroughly enjoyed them as well. We even made it a point to go to the Indiana Jones show at Universal Studios back when they were toddlers. So I was excited to hear that after close to 20 years, Steven (Spielberg), George (Lucas) and Harrison (Ford) were actually getting together for an Indiana project. Yes I was, even if in the back of my mind, I was hoping this wouldn’t be a case of “things best left alone.” So with much Cannes fanfare, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull had its world premiere, and I was there to watch the film with my boys on the second day of its local run.

My overall impression of the film is that it’s a collage of sorts, a pastiche of Steven’s and George’s filmographies. The start of the film is great, and you can’t complain about how they leave Harrison’s grey hair by timing the film to be happening a full decade and some after World War II, with the onset of the Cold War and the Roswell incident as historical backdrops to the conflict that will ensue. It’s here that we’re introduced to Cate Blanchett’s character, a Russian dominatrix who specializes in spyfare and espionage. Ray Winstone as an old acquaintance and sidekick of Indiana also crops up, a wonderful foil to Indiana’s character, straight man for all Indiana’s quips and asides.

The middle of the film goes according to formula (and that’s not a bad thing), bringing us to the exotic locale — this time out, South America, where Peruvian temples and unusually elongated crystal skulls become the stuff legends come from, and we’re off on an exciting quasi-archaeological adventure chase as only the Indian Jones series can deliver. It’s at this point that Shia LeBoeuf and John Hurt make their appearances, and Karen Allen reprises her Raiders character, as the only woman Indiana ever really loved, albeit it is some 20 years on, and there are family secrets involving the provenance of Shia’s character.

It’s the last part of the film, and the hasty resolution, that seem at odds with what we’ve come to expect of Indiana films, that feeling of supreme satisfaction in terms of being entertained. I won’t spoil the fun and go into the details, but somehow the vestiges of past films ran through my mind and I wondered if the story of George Lucas and Jeff Natahanson could have been the culprit here. At times, the Extra-Terrestrial origin of the Crystal Skull had me thinking E.T.’s older cousin? And the spaceship that suddenly comes to life at the film’s end had me musing if this is the same ship that comes back 24 years later to become the basis of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Yes, literature has been written about how architectural marvels like the Egyptian pyramids and Mayan temples would have to be explained by visits from a superior race from outer space, but to see that premise being used as a resolution for an Indy film seemed a little too outlandish, given how very human motives had led to what witchcraft or supernatural phenomenon we had been treated to in the former films (for example, the simple Holy Grail chalice in the Last Crusade). The Shia character comes straight out of Marlon Brando’s Wild One “school,” but without the real menace and swagger Marlon imbued in that character. That, coupled with the fistfight in the soda fountain had me reminiscing Back to the Future.

Perhaps it is unfair to view the film and keep harping back to previous ones Spielberg and Lucas have been involved with, but given how iconic these two names are in recent filmmaking, the reactions I had came involuntarily, and I turned to my boys for verification. And they agreed that the action sequences were top-notch, with the excitement factor being raised higher and higher; but even they felt the movie ended with a resounding thud. Fun to watch, but it won’t take its place as anyone’s favorite Indiana Jones film.