Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull [M]

Years ago, Indiana Jones was showing Nazis and Indians a thing or two, now he’s battling the Russians. As the Cold War gets frostier, Dr Irina Spalko turns her attention to developing a means of psychiatric warfare by locating a legendary crystal skull and returning it to its proper owner: a God who offers great power over the mind. As Dr Jones and his past flames and new friends get roped into the plot, an adventure of epic proportions soon begins, one that must see Indiana get the skull and return it before the Russians do. 

When this film first came out in the cinemas, I was thrilled not only because it was a new Indiana Jones movie, but because it turned the younger generation onto these older and rollicking adventure films. Seriously, as soon as the film was being advertised, we had to order in more copies of the original films and move them to one night new release because the customer demands for the movie were so high. That was a pretty intense period. Filled with rollicking adventure, action, romance, former acquaintances, and new characters, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was a great movie, well worth having in the collection if you’re an Indy fan. 

Years ago, Indiana Jones was showing Nazis and Indians a thing or two, now he’s battling Russians. As the Cold War turns frostier with nuclear warfare being all the rage, Dr Irina Spalko, Stalin’s number one scientist, has turned her attention to developing a means of psychiatric warfare by locating a legendary crystal skull and returning it to its rightful owner: a God who offers great knowledge and power over the mind. As Indiana’s former flames, friends, and new acquaintances get roped into the plot, a new adventure begins, one that must see Indiana recover and return the skull before the Russians do. 

Although it was made years and years later, in a world where technology is King, The Crystal Skull was very true to the original Indiana Jones movies. Every detail was right, even the style of font in the opening credits. It was all perfect until the very end. 

Now, I don’t want to spoil this for anyone who has not yet seen the film so if you’re one of those people, tune out now. The ending of this movie became too science fiction for an Indiana Jones movie. At first, it’s all religious and everything can be made sense of, but at the very end, I got the feeling that the writers realised the error of their ways, but there was a week of filming before wrapping up. Sort of a “whoops-we-should-have-thought-of–that-oh-well-too-late-now” type thing. Aside from that, the story was just as plausible and rollicking as the original films. 

Harrison Ford returns as the great architect hero and it felt as though he’d never left. I have to say that he may not be as young and charming as he used to be, but there is no need for the writers to keep bringing that up. There are far too many references to the age of the actor and character in this movie and it does get to the point where you go “come on!” Aside from that, Harrison’s performance was just as perfect as when he did Raiders of the Lost Ark. 

Cate Blanchett stars as Irina Spalko and she’s just fantastic. Her Ukrainian accent seems to weaken a little bit here and there, but fair play it’s a hard accent to cling to. She was masculine, commanding, but at the same time very charming. Loved her! 

Starring Karen Allen, John Hurt, Jim Broadbent, Ray Winstone, and Shia LaBeouf, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was a rollicking, action-packed adventure filled with scorpions, classic rock music, motorcycles, romance, comedy, and plenty of fighting. All Indiana Jones until the very end, the film is still one that’s worth watching and that needs to be added to the collection, particularly if you already own the original ones.