This story is, needless to say, just as outrageous as the others and relies on puzzles that would remain forever unsolved if it were not for Indiana Jones. What the film lacks is the sense of sweeping joy throughout in its goofiness. Spielberg shows that he is still an old-fashioned, seasoned pro when it comes to staging action scenes and he throws in everything from left-field as he can, including some truly random, swinging monkeys (and Mutt becoming just like one out of the blue). Other than a truly nifty chase scene with Mutt and Indy through a campus library during an anti-Communist rally, however, much of the choreography here seems too workmanlike compared to the other films and feels, after a while, like it is just piling on one stunt or special effect after another.
Another problem is that the film and all of its characters fail to acknowledge their years. Yes, it is certainly welcome to see Karen Allen as Indy’s past flame and I don’t certainly expect true realism in their relationship. But wouldn’t they have more to say to each other after he has been in absentia for 27 years? There is a bit of squabbling in the beginning but the film does not reignite much of a spark, whether romantic or abrasive.
Also, the film sets its time almost 20 years since the last film acknowledging a few other characters from earlier films. Yet, beyond the opening scene where he complains about missing a truck to which he was aiming to swing, Indiana Jones in his 60s seems even more agile and nimble than he was before. I don’t want to be ageist but since LaBeouf is obviously placed there to be a young protégé/successor for Indy, how about really going that direction by having Indiana Jones acting like his age and needing to be rescued from time to time by Mutt? Think of Clint Eastwood who, as an actor and director, has enjoyed greater creative success in his films because he paid attention to his years instead of getting himself stuck in a Dirty Harry time-warp.
Then there is the ending, which reveals the nature of the crystal skull and is, in all honesty, quite lame. I won’t say what it is but it leads the franchise into a territory it should have steered clear of. It is also disappointingly simplistic from a cultural and historical standpoint and indicates how Spielberg and his writers, Lucas, Jeff Nathanson and David Koepp are really starting to run out of ideas.
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