In which one man attempts to view every summer blockbuster for the entire season, regardless of taste, genre, or snakes. I can’t stand snakes.
According to Simpsons creator Matt Groening, the sign of a great character is its recognizability in silhouette. Early in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Steven Spielberg blocks a shot of Harrison Ford’s shadow in his classic Indiana Jones fedora. As if we didn’t know that Indy was an iconic figure, Spielberg proves the theory right out of the chute.
But the problem with resurrecting an icon 18 years after the fact is the heightened expectation borne of years of building the legend. And it is this to which the franchise falls victim in its fourth installment. That and Spielberg and creator George Lucas’s alien fascination, which is misplaced here.
My greatest fear going into this film, having loved the classic trilogy, was whether it was truly going to feel like an Indiana Jones movie, and by consequence like one of the mid-century adventure serials on which the franchise was based. On this count the movie is successful. The passage of time was inconsequential in this regard, as Ford plays his character with his typical vigor, humor and charm, and the action sequences were made up more of traditional stunt work rather than CGI pap. Crystal Skull is one of those seat-of-the-pants thrill rides that’s always good for a fine Leonard Maltin quote. The action is fun, the throwaway lines are witty, and the characters are dynamic and finely drawn.
The story is the problem. The previous three Indiana Jones installments were focused on mainstream religious artifacts, however mythological they were, the kinds of things that would be true treasures for real life archeologists to find. While there is a whole mythos surrounding South American crystal skulls, one of which is the impetus for the plot in this film, the explanation for the allure of this one (that it is a relic of some sort of alien civilization) does not ring true within the franchise’s own self-determined boundaries. While both Spielberg and Lucas have crafted some fine films about otherworldly phenomena, in this one that whole conceit just doesn’t work.
But the more traditional Indy elements that are present here go a long way toward redeeming the film. Shia LeBeouf does a workmanlike job in his role as the son of one of Ford’s old flames (Karen Allen from Raiders of the Lost Ark). And Allen’s reprisal of her role was a delight. Cate Blanchette’s Russian scientist was a fine villain until her ultimate undoing, which was part of the film’s supremely silly climax. The two major action sequences, a campus motorcycle chase and a Jeep excursion through the Peruvian rainforest, were both highlights.
What the creators lost in all the hullabaloo surrounding the production was that some of the finer plot points just weren’t very good. And I think most of the audience noticed that. Which isn’t to say they weren’t entertained. The film grossed more than $100 million in its first four days in theaters. With the hugely anticipated Sex and the City on tap, we’ll get a real sense of how Indy was received this weekend, when it isn’t the only game in town.
Film: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Director: Steven Spielberg
Stars: Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchette, Karen Allen, Shia LeBeouf, Ray Winstone
Viewing Situation: Weekend matinee, crowded; standard projection
Rotten Tomatoes Average: 78%
My Grade (Out of 10): 6
Next Up: Sex and the City or The Strangers
In which one man attempts to view every summer blockbuster for the entire season, regardless of taste, genre, or smug British schoolchildren.
I saw the first installment in the Narnia franchise, 2005’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, at one of America’s worst theaters, the United Artists Riverview Plaza in Philadelphia. It’s known for huge crowds, lousy picture quality, and terrible service. The Saturday matinee showing was packed with young children and their parents, none of whom (adults included) would shut up for the whole 2 plus hours. I began to think my impression of the film, which I found to be a rote fantasy exploration, was colored by the moviegoing experience. Having now seen the newest picture in the franchise, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, in a much more pleasant setting, I’ve seen all my problems with the first movie duplicated.
These are mediocre adventure movies, designed to make a lot of money from unsuspecting families before fading into the blockbuster ether.
C.S. Lewis’ literary series is one of renown, but I’m not terribly familiar with it. These stories are new to me, and the only thing I was conditioned to expect the first time around was a simplistic Christian parable. And The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe delivered on that. For the most part, those themes seemed to be mostly absent from Prince Caspian. From a filmmaking standpoint, the influence seems to be much more Lord of the Rings than Christian mythology. But a lot of ink has already been spilled on that topic, and with the success of the film version of the Rings saga, duplicates are to be expected.
The biggest flaw in the plan is that, while Narnia presents a fairly rich fantasy universe, the filmmakers fail to execute the little things that its template got right. Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films were sharply and professionally acted, and seemingly small matters like costuming and set dressing were impeccable. Prince Caspian, like the first Narnia film, looks splendid from afar, with sweeping landscape shots. When the characters move into focus, the blemishes show. Close up, the film is populated with myriad different creatures, all of which are ridiculously dressed, ridiculously made up, and just look altogether silly.
The silliest creatures, though, are the humans. Picked solely for their looks and raw Britishness, the four young leads (plus Ben Barnes, picked to play Caspian for his looks and raw ethnicness) are simultaneously wooden and annoying, which really shouldn’t be possible. Though whenever any of these kids delivered some kind of boilerplate action hero line (and there were many such occasions), I laughed out loud, drawing snickers from the rest of the crowd, who somehow seemed to enjoy the film.
For the grand canvas on which this film was painted, it certainly appeared to be done on the cheap, with few name actors and a basic disregard for any visual elements that didn’t involve helicopter shots or things being set on fire.
The only performances of note were Eddie Izzard as the voice of a sword fighting mouse, who provided some laughs, and Peter Dinklage, who was dignified in his supporting role even underneath all that ridiculous costuming. Liam Neeson, reprising his role as Aslan the lion, pretty much phones this one in as he did in the first picture.
Most of the enjoyment I got from Prince Caspian was of my own making, allowing myself to embrace the more ludicrous elements, rather than allow the film to be a chore. I won’t begrudge the filmmakers that. I feel like I got my money’s worth on this one. Just please don’t make another one.
Oh, so you’re going to make this one, and this one? Excellent. Good luck with that.
Film: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Director: Andrew Adamson
Stars: Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley, William Moseley, Peter Dinklage, Warwick Davis
Viewing Situation: Weekday evening, medium crowd; standard projection
Rotten Tomatoes Average: 65%
My Grade (Out of 10): 4
Next Up: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
>>The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader [IMDB]
>>The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair [IMDB]
mentos and manatees 