No one can say that the Indiana Jones franchise has dealt with anything other than the fantastic. From flesh melting souls to thousand year old knights, the series staple is its absurdity and enjoyable absurd action. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull takes that to heart - a very large, overbearing heart.
This is a movie where Harrison Ford survives a nuclear bomb blast inside a refrigerator. Really.
There’s no question the film is loaded with well planned out action scenes. A jungle car chase is incredibly thrilling, filled with a jeep crossing sword battle, vine swinging moneys, and more bullets shot off than in some of the Rambo flicks. Of course Indy manages to survive all of it, and that’s acceptable.
However, this is a movie where Harrison Ford survives a nuclear bomb blast inside a refrigerator. Seriously.
It’s hard to fathom how a rather oddball storyline that brings in Cold War era fears, space - err - interdimensional aliens, and Shia LaBeouf can have anything in it that borderlines on the unacceptably absurd. Every movie has a base of logic, but here Spielberg and Lucas take the audience’s acceptance level too far and without any real reason. The bomb itself plays no role in the storyline and exists simply to put a mushroom cloud on screen.
That, and to have Harrison Ford survive a nuclear bomb blast inside a refrigerator. No joke.
Maybe focusing on that singular moment is too one-sided. It’s not particularly fair to the fine performances and humor-laden dialogue that’s as snappy as it’s ever been for this now four-film series. LaBeouf fits nicely into the sidekick role, and serves to pull Karen Allen back into her 1981 role as Marion Ravenwood.
Spielberg’s direction relies heavily on superb shots involving shadows, giving a noir-like feel to the proceedings. Excessive (and sometimes obvious) green screen effects are purposefully added to give Crystal Skull a specific, colorful tone. While the brightly enhanced shades and almost dream like focus don’t mesh with the previous three films, this is a globe trotting adventure, taking place in an entirely different era.
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