When scanning the extra content, one gets the impression that even
though this film was nearly two decades in the making, the usual
meticulous care Steven Spielberg and George Lucas pay on a movie was a
tad forced.
As Steven Spielberg explains in the mandatory, but in this case rather
revelatory, making of doc, he dragged his heals about making this
movie. Harrison Ford and Lucas were ready a lot sooner than him. The
main problem? The use of aliens as the crux of Indy’s issues. When
George Lucas renamed them “para-dimensional” aliens that Spielberg
finally, and from the sounds of his confessional, just gave up.
Not that one should complain too much. When you get down to it, Crystal Skull may not rank up there with Ark or Crusade, but it still has more than its share of fun.
The rapport among the key cast members is fine overall. Shia LaBouef
makes a truly grand entrance as the character Mutt Williams, copping
Marlon Brando from the The Wild One.
He and Ford, who plays Jones with an appropriate level of aches and
pains, communicate to each other with ease. To top it, the chemistry
between Karen Allen and Ford is still there. Nee further proof? You
have to love the sand pit scene where Ford learns who’s Mutt’s daddy.
To round the cast out, John Hurt plays the wonderfully mad archeologist
Ox with panache and Cate Blanchett and Ray Winstone are solid as the
main villains.
As for the aliens? Para-dimensional or otherwise, one gets the
impression that this would have been a better film if we never
encountered them. While one can accept the concept of them founding and
running a South American empire, then becoming extinct, when they are
finally unveiled the mystery that made the film such a solid experience
is incredibly deflated. It’s a shame too. Extra content on the culture
showed these guys did their research. It’s only that their results are
a bust.
Then again, when you think about what made Ark and Crusade
really superior films is the characters didn’t spend anywhere near as
much time talking about the central mystery as they do with Skull. The final sequence SFX spent on Ark,
where they actually open the box, is too the point and extremely
effective because of it. As for the Holy Grail? Yes, its appearance is
longer, but that’s in part due to Indy having about a half-dozen other
things to take care of at the same time (like saving his father and not
having the cave literally collapse around his feet). The final
denouement of Skull feels like it goes on for way too long. To
top it, for its incredible length, it really doesn’t tell you that much
about the aliens, or the consequences of them being disturbed.
As for the special features, probably the best of them is on the
examination of the Indy legend. Ford, Lucas and Spielberg are
surprisingly straightforward about their doing the film. Their
discussions of setting the film to pulp literature in the 50s and
Ford’s age actually makes a lot of sense, as does setting the Red Army
as this film’s main villains. The production docs, and there are
several, can get annoying, but for fans of that stuff you won’t be
disappointed. The only real gripe here is the inclusion of another Lego
Adventure demo. One has to wonder if these things really are that
necessary. They sure aren’t that entertaining.
No matter what, the key element of this set is the film. Yes, the
ending left something to be desired, but getting there really was a lot
of fun. There are rumors that one more film might happen, one where
Ford passes the fedora to LaBouef. That being the case, let’s hope
Ford, Lucas and Spielberg are in total concurrence if and when it
happens. If that’s the case, it can’t be one great way to end the
franchise.
