When a franchise has been dormant for a long period of time, especially a beloved one such as Star Wars or in this case, Indiana Jones, it is usually evident that a remake or a sequel usually results in an unnecessary addition to a franchise which ends up ruining it. This is evident with Star Wars and even Superman.
However, as bad as some films may be considered, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is considered the most disappointing film next to The Phantom Menace. I disagree.
Based around the crystal skull, this film tells the story of a much older Indiana Jones who is once more on a search for a crystal skull as he must ensure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands of the Nazis .oh wait, the Soviets. This is my biggest concern of the film right here, not the story in general but the idea of using Russians as the main villains.
Each previous Indiana Jones film had a memorable villain, with the first and third using Nazis and the second using terrifying Indian people. The villains in this film are so stereotypical and bland that they immediately pass off as forgettable. Whilst Harrison Ford is as brilliant in the role as he always is, bringing in the same endearing characteristics that made him one of the most loved heroes, Cate Blanchett is horribly miscast as the main villain. When you take into consideration how great an actor she is from various films, to the point where she has won an Oscar, you'd expect her to deliver a truly great performance in such a film. Absolutely not in this case. She comes off as an irritating and very unintimidating villain who comes off as a rather laughable person never providing tension when it is needed. This is partly due to some of the poor writing and some of the poor story involved with her character but Blanchett herself is at fault in this particularly case. When you realize every other villain has cast an image in this franchise and she doesn't, there is definitely something wrong One of my favourite scenes of the film is the fantastic sequence early in the film in the warehouse where a fantastic and old school looking action sequence takes place as John Williams' legendary musical score starts bombastically dancing to its own! This scene, despite the obvious CGI backgrounds, had a lot of great action and some great humor and was an overall fun sequence. Ford immediately ensured that we wouldn't view this film the same as the Star Wars prequels as he is able to bring in an endearing personality towards Indy once more. Then the film certainly slows down and whilst some hate Shia LaBeouf, I certainly didn't mind him. I thought it was rather clever having him be Indy's son which goes well with Sean Connery being the father. Both Indy and Henry Jones Sr are wreckless fathers who try to love their children but are too busy getting caught up in their own world and life.
The story itself is presented rather well even though it doesn't follow the same Indiana Jones structure. Most of the story is intriguing unlike the prequels to Star Wars and come off feeling like an adventure that Indy could go on some day. The script in this film is generally fantastic with some great moments and lines but at the same time, does have some bad dialogue. This is George Lucas' involvement.
Karen Allen returns as Marion Ravenwood from Raiders of the Lost Ark and whilst her character is present to bring back the feeling of the previous films, comes off rather irritating and doesn't do too much to help move the story. Whilst her character was great in the first film, this is where it should've left with her final known fate being having started a relationship with Indy as shown at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. When she meets Indy once more after a long time, it felt forced and rather awkward despite the two having been in a film of the same franchise, a further 25 years earlier.
Steven Spielberg is a legendary writer and whilst this is critically claimed as one of his least successful films, I personally found it a joy to view the first time. Surely it is full of flaws, more so than the previous films and doesn't contain the same magical and nostalgic factor, but Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is able to overlook these issues thanks to a fantastic performance by Harrison Ford and some great action sequences early on, as well as an overall good and engaging storyline with a relatively good script. However, it is truly evident that this instalment never needed to be there for this franchise.
However, as bad as some films may be considered, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is considered the most disappointing film next to The Phantom Menace. I disagree.
Based around the crystal skull, this film tells the story of a much older Indiana Jones who is once more on a search for a crystal skull as he must ensure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands of the Nazis .oh wait, the Soviets. This is my biggest concern of the film right here, not the story in general but the idea of using Russians as the main villains.
Each previous Indiana Jones film had a memorable villain, with the first and third using Nazis and the second using terrifying Indian people. The villains in this film are so stereotypical and bland that they immediately pass off as forgettable. Whilst Harrison Ford is as brilliant in the role as he always is, bringing in the same endearing characteristics that made him one of the most loved heroes, Cate Blanchett is horribly miscast as the main villain. When you take into consideration how great an actor she is from various films, to the point where she has won an Oscar, you'd expect her to deliver a truly great performance in such a film. Absolutely not in this case. She comes off as an irritating and very unintimidating villain who comes off as a rather laughable person never providing tension when it is needed. This is partly due to some of the poor writing and some of the poor story involved with her character but Blanchett herself is at fault in this particularly case. When you realize every other villain has cast an image in this franchise and she doesn't, there is definitely something wrong One of my favourite scenes of the film is the fantastic sequence early in the film in the warehouse where a fantastic and old school looking action sequence takes place as John Williams' legendary musical score starts bombastically dancing to its own! This scene, despite the obvious CGI backgrounds, had a lot of great action and some great humor and was an overall fun sequence. Ford immediately ensured that we wouldn't view this film the same as the Star Wars prequels as he is able to bring in an endearing personality towards Indy once more. Then the film certainly slows down and whilst some hate Shia LaBeouf, I certainly didn't mind him. I thought it was rather clever having him be Indy's son which goes well with Sean Connery being the father. Both Indy and Henry Jones Sr are wreckless fathers who try to love their children but are too busy getting caught up in their own world and life.
The story itself is presented rather well even though it doesn't follow the same Indiana Jones structure. Most of the story is intriguing unlike the prequels to Star Wars and come off feeling like an adventure that Indy could go on some day. The script in this film is generally fantastic with some great moments and lines but at the same time, does have some bad dialogue. This is George Lucas' involvement.
Karen Allen returns as Marion Ravenwood from Raiders of the Lost Ark and whilst her character is present to bring back the feeling of the previous films, comes off rather irritating and doesn't do too much to help move the story. Whilst her character was great in the first film, this is where it should've left with her final known fate being having started a relationship with Indy as shown at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. When she meets Indy once more after a long time, it felt forced and rather awkward despite the two having been in a film of the same franchise, a further 25 years earlier.
Steven Spielberg is a legendary writer and whilst this is critically claimed as one of his least successful films, I personally found it a joy to view the first time. Surely it is full of flaws, more so than the previous films and doesn't contain the same magical and nostalgic factor, but Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is able to overlook these issues thanks to a fantastic performance by Harrison Ford and some great action sequences early on, as well as an overall good and engaging storyline with a relatively good script. However, it is truly evident that this instalment never needed to be there for this franchise.