Indiana Jones and the Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (2008) Film Review: An Over-hated Crystal Gem?

If there is a film that is universally hated by all, it would be the long-awaited return to the "Indiana Jones" franchise. Despite being a financial success and given a warm reception, the fourth film in the beloved series received so much backlash that it got people to appreciate the originally-despised "Temple of Doom." With a fifth film being filmed despite many fans saying that enough is enough, was "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" really that bad to deserve all of the hate it gets to this day? Surprisingly, no. The story is set in the Cold War with Indiana Jones being kidnapped by the Soviets to acquire an alien corpse from Area 51. After he manages to escape the villainous Russians, he is approached by a young greaser named Mutt Williams, who seeks Indy's help to find a long-time colleague as well as Mutt's mother who are tied to the discovery of a crystal skull and the Soviet's goal to control the world by harnessing its power. Indy accepts this one "final" adventure while being confronted with various surprises and revelations. The story gets a lot of flack for introducing aliens into the universe, which I personally don't get. Like, is it really hard to accept aliens being real with a world where various religious artifacts exist and contain various powers? I don't think so. However, it's not really the story that's the issue many have, rather than the tone itself. Unlike the previous films, this is perhaps the most lighthearted or family-friendly adventure Indy has got on with plenty of levity, over-the-top moments, and the least graphic deaths or kills in a franchise. That doesn't mean it's a straight-up kids film, but rather that the film was made to introduce younger audiences into the franchise, which many resent. While the first and third films had far better uses of tone, I still believe that this film is far more structured than the oddity that was "Temple of Doom." On top of that, I did chuckle more often than whatever joke was in "Temple of Doom."

Harrison Ford returning as the titular character is a bit of a mixed bag. Ford still nails the intellectual and badass side during exposition and action sequences. It's the quips and line delivery that's awkward though as it feels really forced, almost as if Indy wanted to be more cool than he really is. Shia LaBouf gets a ton of hate for his performance as Mutt due to his rising stardom, but I don't think he's that bad in the movie. I do think he feels out-of-place in this adventure, but he completely sells himself as a fight-first, think-never greaser who acts like he belongs in the time period. Cate Blanchett as Irina Spalko, a KGB agent and leader of the squad of Soviet soldiers, is well-acted and distinct as a Indy villain, but she has weird motivations as she first wants the skull to better the Soviet Union, only to want knowledge for herself at the end of the film. The wonderful Karen Allen returns as Marion Ravenwood, who is both fiery towards Indy after a messy break-up and still wanting him back due to Mutt being his son. Seeing how that she was the best love interest from the previous films, it's nice seeing her again as the definitive Indy girl. John Hurt as Harold Oxley, a long-time friend of Indy and Mutt who becomes insane from stealing the crystal skull and needs to return it to the lost city of Akator, is great in playing this crazy individual, but we barely see Oxley as himself until the very end, which isn't really much to grant him his own identity. Lastly, there's Ray Winstone as Mac McHale, an ally-turned-enemy of Indy who sells him out to the Russians for money and only sticks around to see if the lost city of Akator really has gold. A lot of people hate Mac as a character for good reasons and the character himself isn't that interesting aside from his chemistry with Indy, but Winstone does such a great job in bringing this slimy yet likeable presence to the character. Overall, the cast and characters aren't bad and the actors give it their all, but they mainly suffer from a limited presence and screentime to keep them from being truly memorable or fleshed-out, so it just leaves Ford and a few awkward line delivers to carry the film.

Despite what you feel about the film, you can't deny that Stephan Spielberg knows how to make a movie, no matter the quality. The decision to set the film in the 1950's is genius for Ford's appearance, the culture and trends, and the overarching conflict of the Cold War that is pushed heavily in the story and landscape. Not only did Spielberg wanted the film to be set naturally in the 50's, but the film to feel like it's from the 50's as well in regards to the introduction of aliens and the gorgeous use of colour and shadows. The Technicolor-inspired aesthetic gives off so many vivid colours, but the use of gothic shadows and sets feels like it can easily be converted to black-and-white, which was the format for many sci-fi and horror productions. The cinematography by Janusz Kaminski is fantastic in the use of lingering, tracking, aerial and angle shots that show off the spectacular sets, landscapes, and action set-pieces. It all feels ambitious and cinematic, while not being overly flashy. The score by John Williams is as great as ever with the use of classic and new renditions of familiar themes. While I do think the previous films have better tracks associated with the respective film, Williams still puts out some nice adventure and awe-inspired music cues throughout the film. The visual effects are quite good for the most part. The use of practical sets, stunts, and miniatures look great to this day and the CGI has aged fairly well more than a decade later. It's true that the film does overuse CGI in various scenes and moments, but the visuals don't look horrendous and the optical effects can mix really well with the live-action actors and sets. Yeah, the monkeys and the prairie dogs could have been done with real-life animals, but the killer ants couldn't and the effects on them hold up extremely well. However, I do think that the alien should have had a more unique design after such a long build-up with its cool-looking skull and skeleton. The action sequences themselves are great, provided if you accept the toned-down violence and over-the-top moments. I love that they do try their best in making the action as practical as possible with the opening sequence, motorcycle chase in New York, the temple and tomb explorations, the jungle chase, and the fight surrounded by killer ants. Yes, I love the rocket sled and the nuclear fridge moment as well, since I can suspend my disbelief for them. While the action is consistently solid for the film, I will admit that the previous films had more iconic sequences with the plane brawl in the first, the mine/voodoo fight in the second, and the tank sequence in the third. The fourth has decent action sequences altogether, but nothing that truly sticks out as the best in the film. Regardless, the direction by Spielberg is as outstanding as always.

"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" clearly doesn't deserve the hate and doesn't deserve the title as the worst film of the franchise. It's clearly not on par with the first and third as the tone does feel more lighthearted than the earlier films, the cast can suffer from limited screen-time and not being fleshed-out as characters because of it, the overuse of CGI on the animals and alien can feel lazy, and the action sequences, as entertaining as they can be, don't stand out amongst each other as the best or iconic out of the bunch. Despite these issues, it's far from being a bad film as the story does keep my interest with the introduction of aliens, the comedy is fairly good with the witty deliveries, Ford returning as Indy still nails down the character perfectly aside from the quips, the acting in general from the entire cast is great with not one person phoning in their performance, Kaminski's camerawork is stunning as always, the score by Williams is almost on par with his previous works with the adventurous themes and re-use of iconic music, the practical effects are great to see in a film like this, the CGI actually holds up fairly well and looks pretty good in various sequences, the action is still entertaining with the maximum use of practical stunts and environments as possible, and Spielberg's direction masterfully transports Indy to the 50's backdrop and introduces a brand new sense of colour and scope to the franchise. Removing nostalgia out of the equation, this is a great return for the character that really should be the final adventure that, while not on par with the best titles, still feels like a wonderful adventure.

Verdict: 6.5/10. Decent film overall, but really needed another rewrite to be just as perfect as the previous films. And yes, it's better than "Temple of Doom" by a long shot.