Culture Club goes Indy
There’s nothing like a good old veritable romp in the cinema and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was just that, nothing like one.
Lovingly hand crafted by the accomplished magi Lucas and Spielberg over many years, forged in the deepest recesses of Hollywood with one of the strongest iconic heroes of our generation as its metal -and then blessed with the latest magic of digital arts technology, I was somewhat looking forward to a rapier of a film to lead this summer’s wave of new releases and thrust through the swathes of audience cynicism.
I think we got something more akin to a butter knife.
Despite Ford’s usual expert brandishing of whatever he is given, (still the best action hero of his generation in my book by a country mile), this film is guilty of one of the worst sins a film can commit – not knowing what it is about. Chucking the kitchen sink at this film was too much; adding the floorboards, radiators and doorframes then starts to become criminal vandalism.
Ok, there were occasional nice moments, clever references, the usual imaginative scenery but the after-taste of disappointment takes a long time to disperse. The only way I think the film could have been saved would have been to stick Mel Brooks in the director’s chair and properly develop this movie into what it clearly was –the Space Balls of Indiana Jones.
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:39 am
The first half of the film was great, dispelling any fears I had (wish were many) that it was going to be a mess, but…
Throw in Shia becoming a natural king of the swingers, a ridiculous leap of faith, and a crystal skull which could magnitise and demagnitise itself seemingly at will the second half just becomes a farce wishing that I could slip into the space between spaces.
It’ll no doubt do the numbers at the box office, but it will sadly be remembered as the poor relation to what was a great cinematic series.
Still I wouldn’t mind being able to leap about like Harrison Ford does at 65!
May 23rd, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Awesome rapier wit there John, your clever footwork meant you dodged potential pitfalls between vehicles.
The “on ice” status of the franchise should have been removed and placed in a lead lined fridge, as it seems the nucleus of the film (and lack of resulting radiation) turned Indie into a characterture of his former self.
At least the one liners still swung in on a jungle vine and made the film seem as if it were from another dimension.
Do not pay real money to watch this film.
May 23rd, 2008 at 1:00 pm
I liked the ants……and the monkeys
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:23 pm
erm.. sorry, but did he just survive a nuclear explosion by hiding in a Smeg fridge??
rubbish… besides, Sly Stallone could take Ford any day.