Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fans of the INDIANA JONES films. If you read my reviews for the recent DVD set of the original trilogy you see that I loved all three films and that in my mind they are some of the most perfect action adventures films I have ever seen. Now, almost twenty years later the trilogy that many have grown to love is now a series, with the forth installment INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL. While many may argue that this film should of never been made, I disagree. How can you call yourself a fan of a set films and not want more?

KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL takes place years after the first three films, Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is teaching at the university part time and is pretty much world renounced as one of the best archeologist to ever live. So much so that he knows half of the artifact he’s found are being stored in Area 51. And that’s where the story begins; with Indy being kidnapped by a group of Russians headed by a women named Col. Dr. Irina Spalko (Kate Blanchett). Spalko is after one thing that Indy knows about; the crystal skull, and in order to find the lost temple of the crystals skulls she first needs certain artifacts to help her with her mission. This of course does not go over well with Indiana and as always he escapes. Now back at his school he soon learns that the Russians are still hot on his tail. He runs into a kid named Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf) who was sent by his mother Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) to get a hold of Indy to help her and Professor Oxley out with a problem they are having in South America, which obviously has something to do with the Crystal Skull. So Along with Mutt, Indy travels to South America in search of his friends, but little does he know that the Russians are right there at his heels looking for the same thing Indy and his friends are looking for; The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Now, the many complaints I’ve heard about this film are mainly about the story and the script. Personally on my first screening of the film, I did think that some of what was going on in the story was a bit far fetched. The whole nuclear bomb and the refrigerator scene, the fire ant scene, the monkey scene, and of course the river scene and the ending. All of which I won’t go into detail on, but if you saw the film you know what I’m referring too. The with all the people that complained about it is that they failed to re-watch or remember how nuts things were in the first three films. Yet again another thing I won’t get into. But as far as my opinion of the script; I found that it was not the best script when it came to dialogue or introducing some of the villains in the film, but what it was, one thing that no one can take away from the script was that it was action packed and fun. It also tied up a lot of loose ends with the character of Indiana as well.

As far as the performances go, everyone in the film was good. Harrison Ford after taking almost a twenty year vacation since returning to the role of Indiana Jones takes the character once again and gives us a great performance. Kate Blanchett once again proves that she’s a great actor by taking on the sinister role of the evil Col. Dr. Irina Spalko, and Shia LaBeouf shines as the new fresh faced sidekick to Indiana. It was also good to see Karen Allen back as Marion, and one thing the film provides is a back story on what happened to her and Indiana. John Hurt was fabulous as the ever likable Oxley and Ray Winstone was great as the greedy character of Mac McHale.

the films production value was pretty decent as well. You have your normal great costume and set designs which are almost expected to be perfect and eye catching, which they were. Yet what I think might of been the downfall for many fans of the original films was the fact that the visual effects in this new installment were all computer generated. People fail to remember that the first three films were made during the nineteen eighties, with LAST CRUSADE being that last of the films was made in 1989. A time where CGI was just being developed. So many of the effects used then were with stop motion or make-up effects. CRYSTAL SKULL has a lot of CGI, and it while some of the stuff does seem a bit out there for the most part it does look pretty good. I would say the only thing that looks a bit out of place are the monkeys and the fire ants which look very cartoon like. But other than those few things the overall production value of the film is very good.

Overall, while I’ll agree with the fanboys that CRYSTAL SKULL is the weaker of the other films in the series, it’s still a good film that’s a lot, and I mean a lot of fun to watch. Like I mentioned above when I first saw this film, I was a bit baffled by some of the scenes in this film, but then I realized how crazy and at time unrealistic some of the scenes where in the first three films, and it made me realize that CRYSTAL SKULL fits right in there with them. Overall, INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL is one hell of a fun film, filled with many adventures and thrills.

This DVD is out of control; the picture and sound quality are top notch and the featurette bring you right into the theology behind the films and the characters. The first disc, has the feature film and two featurettes one of them takes us right into the making of the film and it’s preproduction. It was really cool to see Director Stephen Speilberg describing the script to the animator as they produce a computer generated film to follow when production begins so the cast and crew know how each and every shot is going to look. It also has a featurette called “The Return of the Legend” where we get to see everyone come together nineteen years later to make yet another Indiana Jones movie. This was one of my favorite features in the two disc set, as it shows how the cast was not sure how things were going to work out, and how some crew members and Spielberg went crazy looking for someone to make Indiana’s hat and jacket just like they were in the first three films and their concerns if Harrison Ford still had it in him.

The second disc. is basically the production diary of the making of the film and all the behinds the scenes stuff. The main documentary is a 12 part in depth look at the overall making of the film. There is also a pre-visualization sequence featurette which shows how the the filmmakers and crew were able to put together three of the films actions scenes. Then, as always you have your basic photo galleries, behind the scenes photos, trailers for the film and a demo game for the Indiana Jones Lego game for Xbox 360.

This is a DVD that is a must for fans of the series and for filmmakers or up and coming filmmakers that look at Steven Speilberg as a role model. The behind the scenes featurette’s show just how much work goes into making a film on epic proportions such as Indiana Jones AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL. It’s also something that fans of the film or just the casual movie watcher will really get into and enjoy.

– Horror Bob

DVD Features:

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull two-disc Special Edition DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs with THX Certified Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround, French 5.1 Surround and Spanish 5.1 Surround and English, French and Spanish subtitles. The two-disc set includes the following special features:

Disc 1:

• The Return of a Legend—The evolution of the new film and a tribute to the legendary hero and his creators.
• Pre-Production—Follows Steven Spielberg as he creates animatic sequences, Shia LaBeouf as he learns to swordfight and captures the reunion of filmmakers and cast on the soundstage.

DVD Disc 2:

• Production Diary: Making Kingdom of the Crystal Skull—Join filmmakers, cast and crew for a complete look at the making of the film.
  • Shooting Begins: New Mexico
  • Back To School: New Haven , Connecticut
  • Welcome to the Jungle: Hilo , Hawaii
  • On-Set Action
  • Exploring Akator
• Wrapping Up
• Warrior Makeup
• The Crystal Skulls
• Iconic Props
• The Effects of Indy
• Adventures in Post Production
• Closing: Team Indy
• Pre-Visualization Sequences
  • Area 51 Escape
  • Jungle Chase
  • Ants Attack
• Galleries
• The Art Department
  • The Adventure Begins
  • Cemetery and Jungle
  • Akator
• Stan Winston Studio
  • Corpses, Skeletons & Mummies
  • Aliens & Crystal Skulls
• Production Photographs
• Portraits
• Behind-the-Scenes Photographs

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Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull  is also available as a single disc DVD presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs with THX Certified Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround, French 5.1 Surround and Spanish 5.1 Surround and English, French and Spanish subtitles.