Title: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Cast: Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, Shia LeBeouf, Ray Winstone, John Hurt, Jim Broadbent. Genre: Action-adventure. Director: Steven Spielberg. Writers: David Koepp, George Lucas. Distributor: Paramount Pictures. Location: Peru. Running time: 124 minutes.
Technical: 3.5
Moral: 3
CINEMA rating: PG 13
Years ago, Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is supposed to have seen in a humongous warehouse a crate that contains hyper-magnetic material. Now the Soviet femme fatale Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett) who is as beautiful as she is heartless, takes Indy and his sidekick Mac McHale (Ray Winstone) to this warehouse to find this crate. The mysterious crate leads the trio and Irina’s coterie of equally vicious Russians to the Amazonian wilderness, picking up along the way Indy’s “support group” Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), motorcycle buff Mutt Williams (Shia LeBeouf), and aging Professor Oxley (John Hurt) who is most useful in deciphering cave drawings, explaining things nobody knows about, and carrying the crystal skull they have found in a crypt. The crystal skull is supposed to be one of the 13—the other 12 are concealed in an ancient subterranean city of gold beneath a pyramid in Peru—and supposedly represents one-thirteenth of all knowledge that is knowable by man. Like all other power-charged antiquities, the crystal skull must be returned to its original home, otherwise…
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is the fourth IJ adventure…, and while it may not surpass or even equal Raiders of the Lost Ark (the first of the Indiana Jones series, 1981), it’s hard to say if Crystal Skull couldn’t be the best had it been the first Indiana Jones movie. That usually happens with cinematic greats that have Numbers 2, 3, 4 or more following them, like Rambo, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, etc.—the public normally judges the first as the best, then the interest wanes. When the novelty fades, Number 2, 3, etc. have to try twice as hard to keep viewers high. Viewers want more of the same, the excitement of the first. But what human reaction to pleasure doesn’t reflect the same addictive pattern? The first almost always sets the standards for sequels, but producers can’t seem to sustain the level of creativity because their chief motivation now is to cash in on the financial success of the original.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is no exception, but it has its share of action and inaction, so to speak. First, the lack of action: Indiana Jones is synonymous with action-adventure, thus, expect viewers to be impatient—if they don’t doze off, that is—with the dialogue earlier on in the movie. We suspect, however, that the footage devoted to talking heads is their way of shortening running time—instead of acting out the background, they make the characters tell the story.
Now the action: wow, it can only happen in the movies! The vine-swinging would shame Tarzan. The race on the edge of the cliff will keep you on the edge of your seat. It’s assuring to know senior citizens (Ford and Hurt) can see that much fantabulous action without as much as dislocating a kneecap. It’s amazing to see a fragile-looking Russian lady can fence, shoot, fight, leap, kick and drive like an ex-Le Mans racer and still keep her bangs impeccably intact. It’s comforting to believe your puny boat can plunge down three gigantic waterfalls in three minutes and still run with all passengers cool and collected in their seats—are they wearing seatbelts? But of course, action-adventure flicks especially in the era of CGI must defy logic and break the laws of physics—otherwise they wouldn’t be credible as such. So, enjoy the engineering marvel that is the underground kingdom—and the cliffs and the waterfalls, creations that fill you with awe.
On its first screening day, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was the only movie showing at all Power Plant cinemas; still it was full house, with a number of shrieking kids among the audience. We wonder if this was true of all theaters showing it; if so, Indiana Jones can give Spiderman a run for his money. (Spiderman is Number One among Filipino audiences’ all-time favorites). MTRCB has given a “GP” (General Patronage) rating to the movie, and CINEMA agrees it’s entertaining and wholesome enough; however, due to certain images and incidents that could frighten young children, CINEMA rates it as PG 13, meaning even children below 13 may watch but with parental guidance. The movie requires a certain degree of sophistication to be fully appreciated, so it’s up to the parents or accompanying elders to simplify the background and the details for the children, and to explain culture-related issues so as not to engender biases and prejudice in young minds. (Example: The Russians are bad guys.)
