Comic Related - To See, Or Not To See

To See Or Not To See: Indiana Jones and the Comedy of Errors

by Russell Burlingame, ComicRelated.com

One of the most bittersweet aspects of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, is its musical cues. There are moments in the picture where, no matter what you may feel about it, as a viewer it's hard not to get choked up. By and large, truth be told, the score is pedestrian and a little dull...but when Indy puts a hat on and the trumpets play that old theme...! Visually, with Henry Jones Junior (he is rarely called "Indiana" or "Indy" in this film) swimming in his baggy grandpa pants and shocks of grey-white hair peeking out under an ever-crisp, rarely-dirty brown fedora, you really don't get the feeling that you're watching anything historic--but a few of the old John Williams refrains drive something primal bubbling to the surface of those of us who grew up idolizing Indy.

The reason that the music is the first thing to be examined here, is that it's one of very few things that evoked that sort of reaction in The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. A movie frought with missteps and an obvious misunderstanding of its own audience, it's exactly the type of summer blockbuster developed to make money at all costs: things blow up; there's aliens and Nazis--well, not Nazis so much as Russians with grey shirts and jackboots; an unnecessary youthful sidekick (to bring in the teenagers, you see); and a little something extra borrowed from Bryan Singer's abominable Superman Returns. To ascertain that you know it's a Spielberg picture, the Russians are never subtitled (see also: every Arab in Munich or about 90% of all Germans in any film except Schindler's List); this way, the "evil" characters can be thoroughly and literally dehumanized.

The film oozes 1950s--Russian spies, nuclear testing, a screening of Howdy Doody and Dr. Jones on a sort of academic blacklist all take place in the first ten-or-so minutes of the picture (as does—sad to say the high point of the film for me—a cameo appearance by Neil Flynn, a friend of Ford's from The Fugitive who is best known for his portrayal of The Janitor on ABC sitcom Scrubs). The filmmakers have discussed at length how, while the earlier Jones films were an attempt to capture the magic of '30s and '40s adventure films with a contemporary feel, The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull will be a '50s-style action romp with some science-fiction sensibility thrown in for good measure (a questionable choice to start, as many of those films eventually ended up as Mystery Science Theater 3000 fodder). In an attempt to capture that feel, you have some campy dialogue, some stock characters and Shia LaBoeuf as Arthur Fonzerelli. There's a fairly generic soda fountain brawl, initiated by LaBoeuf and set to the tune of Shake, Rattle & Roll, which solidly plants this film in its era. This is an interesting artistic choice because in the previous Indy films, even with their date stamps, the adventures that took place were largely relatively timeless.

The other aspect of the film that is bound to turn some heads--it already has, both in pre-screenings and on the Internet as eagle-eyed fans dissected the trailers--is the role that extra-terrestrials play in the picture. As in Spielberg's classic Close Encounters of the Third Kind, there is no dialogue, as such, shared between man and his visitors...but their presence is strong and pervasive, particularly in the second half of the film. Using Roswell as a jumping-off point, it is revealed that the good Dr. Jones has been used as a government agent in a variety of capacities since we last caught up with him--he is a Colonel in the Army, apparently, and also has worked with the CIA, MI6 and as a spy against the Russians in the time since Hitler autographed his father's diary for him in the early '40s.

How this film and its continuity jives with The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles is an interesting question--not much was revealed about Indy's post-Last Crusade life in that show, but the implication is clear that he continued adventuring well into his old age. Born in 1900, Indy was revealed in Chronicles to have lived at least into the Clinton Administration, as a 92-year-old, one-eyed Indiana Jones narrated. Here, the implication seems to be that he's ready to settle down a bit at the end and--if comments by Spielberg are to be taken at face value--leave the adventuring to young Mutt Williams (LaBoeuf's greaser character who, while Indiana Jones is habitually rescuing his hat from danger, spends a good portion of the film combing his hair).

The adventure sequences in the picture are hit-or-miss; while some of the car chases and fight sequences are good, and a lot of the side jokes are on the mark, there are times (Marion is injured while driving, but mysteriously gets better) that it's hard to follow visually what's going on as they try to pack too many characters and subplots into a fast-moving sequence. Many of Harrison Ford's comic moments are on-target, but other diversions—such a CGI-rendered prairie dogs and LaBoeuf's own private army of monkeys—bring to mind some of the more artistically-questionable moments of Return of the Jedi and detract from the seriousness of consequences faced by our protagonists.

Dr. Jones also doesn't get very much solo screen time. Henry himself has also become a little more cautious in his old age, while everyone around him seems to have become more like Indiana Jones. Mutt and Marion are decisive and powerful figures, while Indy often finds himself sitting on the back of a motorcycle or behind them in the car, shouting, “No, don't do that! It's dangerous!” As action heroes go, Indy has been turned into a great family man. In case a CIA agent of dubious allegiances, a kidnapped ex-girlfriend and her tagalong son weren't baggage enough, Indy spends most of the film carting around an octogenarian in a semi-catatonic state, who may be the “key” to finding the Lost City of Gold in the same way that his father was key to the recovery of the Holy Grail.

Which, of course, brings us to his father. Considering that screen legend Sean Connery had offered to come out of retirement to play the role, it's a damned shame that they felt compelled to write him out of the picture. In a story where “family” is a recurring theme, the artless and arbitrary way that Henry Jones Senior was removed from the adventure screams “We didn't want to pay Connery” more than anything else. I guess that's what he gets for portraying an aging Allan Quatermain—Indiana Jones's literary forebear—in Fox's box-office fiasco League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The passing in 1992 of character actor Denholm Elliott is nicely acknowledged, though, as his Marcus Brody character (from Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade) is memorialized in both a painting on campus and in the form of a statue, which is unfortunately (and comically) damaged in one of the film's many vehicle chases.

Ultimately, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a film that, while not entirely bad, is nowhere near worthy of its lofty pedigree. As generic action films go, it may have provided some level of entertainment in the vein of National Treasure....It's the attachment of “Indiana Jones” to the title and the involvement of Harrison Ford, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg that raised expectations and standards to a level that none of those individuals—each a shadow of his former self—can meet any longer. It will doubtlessly open at #1 and secure the kind of critical and financial success that guarantee it a sequel if all involved want to make one—the question, really, is whether or not they should.


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	To See Or Not To See: Indiana Jones and the Comedy of Errors by Russell Burlingame, ComicRelated.com One of the most bittersweet aspects of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, is its musical cues. There are moments in the picture where, no matter what you may feel about it, as a viewer it's hard not to get choked up. By and large, truth be told, the score is pedestrian and a little dull...but when Indy puts a hat on and the trumpets play that old theme...! Visually, with Henry Jones Junior (he is rarely called "Indiana" or "Indy" in this film) swimming in his baggy grandpa pants and shocks of grey-white hair peeking out under an ever-crisp, rarely-dirty brown fedora, you really don't get the feeling that you're watching anything historic--but a few of the old John Williams refrains drive something primal bubbling to the surface of those of us who grew up idolizing Indy. The reason that the music is the first thing to be examined here, is that it's one of very few things that evoked that sort of reaction in The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. A movie frought with missteps and an obvious misunderstanding of its own audience, it's exactly the type of summer blockbuster developed to make money at all costs: things blow up; there's aliens and Nazis--well, not Nazis so much as Russians with grey shirts and jackboots; an unnecessary youthful sidekick (to bring in the teenagers, you see); and a little something extra borrowed from Bryan Singer's abominable Superman Returns. To ascertain that you know it's a Spielberg picture, the Russians are never subtitled (see also: every Arab in Munich or about 90% of all Germans in any film except Schindler's List); this way, the "evil" characters can be thoroughly and literally dehumanized. The film oozes 1950s--Russian spies, nuclear testing, a screening of Howdy Doody and Dr. Jones on a sort of academic blacklist all take place in the first ten-or-so minutes of the picture (as does—sad to say the high point of the film for me—a cameo appearance by Neil Flynn, a friend of Ford's from The Fugitive who is best known for his portrayal of The Janitor on ABC sitcom Scrubs). The filmmakers have discussed at length how, while the earlier Jones films were an attempt to capture the magic of '30s and '40s adventure films with a contemporary feel, The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull will be a '50s-style action romp with some science-fiction sensibility thrown in for good measure (a questionable choice to start, as many of those films eventually ended up as Mystery Science Theater 3000 fodder). In an attempt to capture that feel, you have some campy dialogue, some stock characters and Shia LaBoeuf as Arthur Fonzerelli. There's a fairly generic soda fountain brawl, initiated by LaBoeuf and set to the tune of Shake, Rattle & Roll, which solidly plants this film in its era. This is an interesting artistic choice because in the previous Indy films, even with their date stamps, the adventures that took place were largely relatively timeless. The other aspect of the film that is bound to turn some heads--it already has, both in pre-screenings and on the Internet as eagle-eyed fans dissected the trailers--is the role that extra-terrestrials play in the picture. As in Spielberg's classic Close Encounters of the Third Kind, there is no dialogue, as such, shared between man and his visitors...but their presence is strong and pervasive, particularly in the second half of the film. Using Roswell as a jumping-off point, it is revealed that the good Dr. Jones has been used as a government agent in a variety of capacities since we last caught up with him--he is a Colonel in the Army, apparently, and also has worked with the CIA, MI6 and as a spy against the Russians in the time since Hitler autographed his father's diary for him in the early '40s. How this film and its continuity jives with The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles is an interesting question--not much was revealed about Indy's post-Last Crusade life in that show, but the implication is clear that he continued adventuring well into his old age. Born in 1900, Indy was revealed in Chronicles to have lived at least into the Clinton Administration, as a 92-year-old, one-eyed Indiana Jones narrated. Here, the implication seems to be that he's ready to settle down a bit at the end and--if comments by Spielberg are to be taken at face value--leave the adventuring to young Mutt Williams (LaBoeuf's greaser character who, while Indiana Jones is habitually rescuing his hat from danger, spends a good portion of the film combing his hair). The adventure sequences in the picture are hit-or-miss; while some of the car chases and fight sequences are good, and a lot of the side jokes are on the mark, there are times (Marion is injured while driving, but mysteriously gets better) that it's hard to follow visually what's going on as they try to pack too many characters and subplots into a fast-moving sequence. Many of Harrison Ford's comic moments are on-target, but other diversions—such a CGI-rendered prairie dogs and LaBoeuf's own private army of monkeys—bring to mind some of the more artistically-questionable moments of Return of the Jedi and detract from the seriousness of consequences faced by our protagonists. Dr. Jones also doesn't get very much solo screen time. Henry himself has also become a little more cautious in his old age, while everyone around him seems to have become more like Indiana Jones. Mutt and Marion are decisive and powerful figures, while Indy often finds himself sitting on the back of a motorcycle or behind them in the car, shouting, “No, don't do that! It's dangerous!” As action heroes go, Indy has been turned into a great family man. In case a CIA agent of dubious allegiances, a kidnapped ex-girlfriend and her tagalong son weren't baggage enough, Indy spends most of the film carting around an octogenarian in a semi-catatonic state, who may be the “key” to finding the Lost City of Gold in the same way that his father was key to the recovery of the Holy Grail. Which, of course, brings us to his father. Considering that screen legend Sean Connery had offered to come out of retirement to play the role, it's a damned shame that they felt compelled to write him out of the picture. In a story where “family” is a recurring theme, the artless and arbitrary way that Henry Jones Senior was removed from the adventure screams “We didn't want to pay Connery” more than anything else. I guess that's what he gets for portraying an aging Allan Quatermain—Indiana Jones's literary forebear—in Fox's box-office fiasco League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The passing in 1992 of character actor Denholm Elliott is nicely acknowledged, though, as his Marcus Brody character (from Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade) is memorialized in both a painting on campus and in the form of a statue, which is unfortunately (and comically) damaged in one of the film's many vehicle chases. Ultimately, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a film that, while not entirely bad, is nowhere near worthy of its lofty pedigree. As generic action films go, it may have provided some level of entertainment in the vein of National Treasure....It's the attachment of “Indiana Jones” to the title and the involvement of Harrison Ford, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg that raised expectations and standards to a level that none of those individuals—each a shadow of his former self—can meet any longer. It will doubtlessly open at #1 and secure the kind of critical and financial success that guarantee it a sequel if all involved want to make one—the question, really, is whether or not they should.
	Page last updated on May 21, 2008 About Us \| Contact Russell Burlingame \| Contact Comic Related All Rights Reserved. Copyright © 2008 Russell Burlingame