Coming 19 years after The Last Crusade, the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull sees our beloved hero search for the Crystal Skull and encounters friends and foes, both old and new along the way.
If you’re new here, hi, I’m Harry!! I’m the creator of The Review Lab and we have been exploring the Indiana Jones movies in the buildup to his latest instalment ‘The Dial of Destiny’.
So far we have ranked the movies as we have gone, here is our list so far:
JOINT 1ST - The Last Crusade & Raiders of the Lost Ark
2nd - The Temple of Doom
Now as mentioned Kingdom of the Crystal Skull came 19 years after The Last Crusade. It’s fair to say opinions for this film over the years are mixed. Yes it some weaker moments especially with it’s use of CGI but it has some great moments too.
So let's look at the question itself, is it underrated?.
Let’s get into it.
Let's answer this straight off the bat, Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is an underrated movie, there I said it.
The film revolves around Indy searching for a telepathic crystal skull that takes him around the world, in the hopes of stopping the KGB. It’s set in 1957 and returning director Spielberg immediately makes that known. Not only do we get a brief opening scene with Elvis music, but the film is a lot more colourful, from its sets to its costumes it makes sure you know this new era the film is set in. For the most part it works! It does lack a bit of the grubby texture that the originals had, yet times were different when this film was made, so it makes sense.
For me the standout in this film is Harrison Ford as Indiana, after 19 years he so easily slips back into the role and plays it joyfully, he also looks fantastic. Performing the set pieces whilst quipping is always fun to watch, especially when it’s Indiana.
The film also brings a new dynamic for Indiana through the character of Mutt (played by Shia LeBouf). Later revealed to be Indy’s Son. Now for the most part this is a very interesting dynamic, whilst we have seen the father-son relationship explored, to have it be Indy’s biological son is very fun. We see a new side to him again, which is one of the things this franchise does so well, you’re constantly evolving the central protagonist. Shia isn’t bad in the role, I think how he portrays Mutt is exactly how it was meant to be, I think the character is more appealing in the first half though, as once we find out he’s Indy’s son, the film does try and make references to him being a future Indy which doesn’t work.
There are multiple characters in this movie, most of which are new. Early on it’s revealed both Marcus and Henry Sr (from the originals) have passed. In real life, Deholm Elliot who played Marcus had passed away and Sean Connery (Henry Sr) passed on returning). So there does feel like there’s a disconnect there because we don’t have many characters apart from Indy to give us that nostalgia. Saying that though, one returning character is Marion from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Considering she hasn’t been mentioned since Raiders, to see her and Indiana interact again, learning what happened and how they overcome there differences is one of the stronger parts of the movie for sure.
As for New Characters there is double crosser Mac played by Ray Winstone. As a concept, it is interesting, the film gives him reasoning as to why he has double crossed Indiana, however it makes it a recurring film and by the end of the film when there’s the joke of him being a triple agent, the concept has become a little stale.
Now, just like a classic Indiana Jones adventure this film has plenty of adventure and set pieces. All of which I throughly enjoy. Let’s look at the opening set piece for example. After being taken hostage by the KGB, Indiana tries to escape. With the epic backing of a fantastic score by John Williams, hearing the iconic Raiders March as Indiana desperately tries to escape makes you punch the air! Also having it set in the warehouse from raiders of the lost ark (which is referenced) is amazing. You get adventure, action and nostalgia rolled into one. The set pieces also don’t stop there, each coming at a pivotal moment of the film. For example the forest sequence.
For the most part, this sequence is imaginative and fun. Indy and Co against the KGB and Spalko (played by Cate Blanchett who gives an interesting performance). Most of it feels real and practical and it makes the film fun, you feel exhilarated and have a great time. It also starts to mix CGI in this sequence too, which is fine and does work which parts like the river sequence. However, we have to talk about Shia with the CGI monkeys. Whilst I’m sure as a concept was funny, showing him to be an adventurer, it makes absolutely no sense and takes you out of the moment but nevertheless the sequence itself is still fun.
Out of all the movies, this one feels the most family friendly, whilst all of them contain elements of horror, for example face melting in raiders, this adventure does tone it down a lot more. This isn’t a bad thing, they substitute it with humour and adventure which for me works. There is also a little element of horror with the killer ants which is a fun sequence.
So before we come to our conclusion, let’s talk about the films most mixed opinion. The aliens otherwise known as inter dimensional beings, a lot of people HATE this element, saying it makes no sense especially in this franchise and to that i say. Nonsense. It makes perfect sense and hear me out.
In this franchise we get elements of religion, mythology and even the supernatural. Remember in ‘The Temple of Doom’ where a man can rip your heart out with his hand?. The franchise has always tried to try something new and for that I think it’s quite smart. It’s clear Spielberg didn’t want to tackle with this subject, so I do feel it could be handled better, but I think as a whole, the concept that the McGuffin was Aliens and as Indiana says the treasure is Knowledge is a great concept especially compared to the films antagonist. Blanchett’s Spalko, spends the film wanting unlimited knowledge and power and that ends up being her downfall, it’s very clever. So yeah, I think having aliens in this film is actually quite interesting.
Overall I do think this film is underrated, whilst it’s not the best in the franchise and suffers from some CGI and Characters. Its adventure, humour and heart makes it a lot of fun. It’s filled with iconic moments and shots (Indy with the Mushroom Cloud) and if you look past some of its sillier moments (the fridge is all I will say), you’re gonna have a great time, it really is an underrated film.
So there we have it, we have gone through all the Indy films before this weeks Dial of Destiny Review! Here’s our Rankings before our final one next post:
JOINT 1ST - The Last Crusade & Raiders of the Lost Ark
2nd - Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
3rd - The Temple of Doom
What do you think?! Do you like this film or not? Comment and let us know!!
We will be back for the final part of this Mini-Indiana Jones series most likely on the 28th but keep an eye on the socials for confirmation!!
Until then,
Stay safe, look after each other
Harry x