Indiana Jones and the Be-All-End-All of Nostalgic Childhood Cinema

Indiana Jones and the Be All End All of Nostalgic Childhood Cinema
A Review by Ernest M. Whiteman III

There has never been a bad Indiana Jones Movie.

Now, you may contend that statement. Thankfully, for me the trend, like the Adventure, continues with Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the fourth movie of the series. (Or maybe I’m getting too cute in my phrasing.)

Now, I will try to leave nostalgia out of this review and talk about it in the present context. Most people now filter their movie-going experience through a lens of childhood nostalgia. Honestly, nothing will ever match the experience you had watching an epic movie as a child. For one, you are a completely different person now that you were as a child. You have gone through life’s experience and the expectancy and awe and wonder in which you viewed life as a child is changed to pragmatism and urgency, urgency as you now realize there are more years behind you that in front of you. Secondly, every movie you viewed as a child was EPIC, even the bad ones. Today, movies are not events so much as just another thing to do.

Hopefully, I will let go of that bias and review the movie as a movie rather than some nostalgic, childhood-recapturing event. In Crystal Skull the film makers wisely play to Harrison Ford’s real age and move the setting from pre-WWII Thirties to post-WWII Fifties, and it works. Indiana Jones has had many adventures in the meantime. This time the agents of the USSR force Indy to seek out a legendary Crystal Skull which would give the bearer unlimited power. Sound familiar? Yep, Crystal Skull becomes yet another race against the armies of darkness.

But as with other Indy Jones movies, the journey leads to a bigger personal discovery for Jones. In Raiders of the Lost Ark, it was that Marion could be the one and that belief in something can save you. In Temple of Doom, the search led to the idea that the greater good is more important that Fortune and Glory. The Last Crusade that the search for the Grail can lead to finding yourself, your family, and again, that simple belief in something can not only save your life, but that of your gut-shot dad. This new journey finds that time is not kind to an Obtainer of Rare Antiquity. But as Indy loses family, he gains family. No spoiler there.

The Good
What I enjoyed most about it was that it never once tried to re-hash past movies. It tried something new with the old formula. The passage of time and its effects on Indy. Just the fact that Indiana Jones was on the screen again in another, different adventure. I liked that they set it in the Fifties rather than trying to keep in the Thirties.

Plus, for some reason, I found Cate Blancett very sexy in this movie. Had to be the Bettie Page bangs. (Yum.)

The Not SO Good
Okay, let’s get down to it: the only one slacking here was John Williams. He was the one who actually tried to rehash past movies. Okay, we get it. The giant rubber snake and the swinging with the monkeys seemed a touch too jokey. That was one of the problems I had with "The Last Crusade", it was too purposely jokey. (Plus, I hated they turned Denholm Elliot’s character Marcus Brody into a dullard.) And there seemed to me to be too many characters. I am sorry they didn’t give Marion more to do, but I love that smile!

The Coolest
The shot of Indiana Jones running along the tops of the warehouse crates, snapping his whip at a hanging light and swing off all in a dead run, still amazes me. I did like the Sci-Fi direction they went in. The cool, iconic shot of Indiana Jones walking beneath a mushroom cloud. Not even an atomic bomb can take out Indiana Jones! Plus, it was cool to hear Elvis in an Indiana Jones movie.

Shia
I liked the character and who he turned out to be. It made sense. People, especially fan boys, have a real problem when their favorite characters suddenly have lives beyond entertaining us with their adventures. The fact that an IMAGINARY CHARACTER can be written to have moved on and HAVE CHILDREN seems to rankle us fan boys and we react like jealous lovers. Superman is a great example of this. It is an interesting turn when Superman discovers he has a child, (in Superman Returns) that the world has changed for him and that adds complexity and dimension to a 70-year-old character. And it was never done before, not even in the comics.

The same can be said for Indiana Jones and his son. (NO SPOILER THERE) What will the world be like with their offspring are in the world? How does that change their lives, their adventures, the dangers? It is all interesting and complex but we sit at our keyboards and complain in our anonymity like spurned boyfriends. (I think that the added sting for fan boys is that even imaginary characters are having more sex than us!)

Plus, people have this unexplainable hatred for people like Shia LeBeouf and M. Night. Could it be that because success seems to have happened pretty easily for them and they are making the movie we wish we could make that makes us hate them so? I don’t know. Why drag M. Night into this? I don't know. But, Shia didn’t bother me. (What bothers me about Shia is that he was drunk and driving and he wrecks, and it’s still not his fault? That is simply Cheney-esque.)

I enjoyed Kingdom of the Crystal Skull as much as I enjoyed the other two Indiana Jones sequels. Raiders is lightening in a bottle and cannot be re-captured. Let it go fan boys. I liked the Area 51 and alien storyline too. It didn’t bother me as it did some. I think it’s a generational thing. My two step-daughters were perfectly fine with the alien story. Besides, for so long the fan community wanted Indy to take on Area 51 and aliens, but when he does, why do they complain? I do hope they do another trilogy with the older and wiser Indy. The final line of the new trilogy, just before he rides off into the sunset, again, could be, "The name’s Henry Jones, Junior!"

I did not go into Crystal Skull trying to recapture a childhood experience. Why? Because I’ve grown, THE FUCK, up! (Hopefully) I was just happy to see one of my favorite heroes back on the big screen again. To see that Indiana Jones can still be relevant is truly special in these times. And we, like Indiana Jones, need to quit thinking about how life takes away and be appreciative for what life gives us. Like new adventures with our favorite heroes....

High recommendation.