Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull marks the fourth installment into one of Hollywood’s most beloved series of films. Even as a big fan of the series, I had my doubts; Indiana Jones first graced the screen back in 1981, some twenty-seven years ago. Could Harrison Ford, now in his sixties, still play a convincing Indy or had the time come for him to hang up his whip and fedora? Ever the optimist, I thought it could be a total waste of time with Spielberg in the director’s chair, George Lucas as one of the executive producers, John Williams composing the music and Karen Allen’s return as Marion Ravenwood. While the film definitely has its flaws, Indiana Jones is still a delight to watch, even after all these years.
The year is 1957, Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones Jr. (Harrison Ford) finds himself kidnapped by a squad of Russian troops led by the villainous Dr. Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett) to find a crate deep inside a warehouse in an area known as Area 51. Dr. Jones locates the crate containing the corpse of an alien life form, and barely escapes death after learning that his longtime colleague, George ‘Mac’ McHale (Ray Winstone) is working for the Communists. Under suspicion of traitorous activity from the FBI, Jones is forced to accept an indefinite leave of absence from his professorship. When he meets a young “greaser” by the name of Mutt (Shia LaBeouf) who offers Indiana evidence as to the whereabouts of a mysterious Crystal Skull, detailed in a letter from Jones’ former colleague Professor Harold ‘Ox’ Oxley (John Hurt), the pair travel to Peru in search of the mysterious artifact. However, Spalko and the Soviets are hot on their trail. Complicating matters is the fact that Mutts mother somehow fits into all of this, and she has gone missing. As a matter of fact, she is the one who sent Mutt to find Indiana Jones.
With Indy and Mutt on the run from the Russians, looking for Oxley and the crystal skull, trying to figure out the secrets of the crystal skull, searching for Mutt’s mother, and avoiding the other miscellaneous perils that spring up, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull turns into a complicated mishmash of chases, fights and odd twists and turns. However, the film still works well enough because Spielberg and his crew have stayed true to the essence of the Indiana Jones character.
Call me sentimental, but Indiana Jones still fits like a glove. The movie never misses a beat in its reproduction of the style of the previous films, including Indy’s trademark mannerisms, John Williams’ familiar refrains, and various sound effects. Harrison Ford plays Indy like its part of his being. Let’s face it, the Indiana Jones films have never been about reality; rather their a fantasy, pulling viewers in with the allure of the lifestyle, exotic adventures and romance.
Admittedly, The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was far from a perfect film. Cate Blanchett’s Dr. Spalko is easily the weakest villain in the series. Poorly developed, far from menacing, and completely uninteresting, the character serves as nothing more than a springboard from which the movie dives into its primary plot line. For me, Shia Le Beouf just didn’t cut it. Based on the ending, it’s clear that Spielberg and Lucas intend to bring him back for another film, maybe even the lead role. However, I found his charisma lacking (as I have in some of his other films) and can’t see him as the next Indy.
In the end, I guess my feelings about Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull are somewhat bittersweet. As much as I enjoyed seeing my old movie favorites again, it’s clear a lot of time has passed and maybe Spielberg and Lucas should consider putting a wrap on the Indy franchise before it becomes a joke.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull marks the first of Steven Spielberg’s Indiana films to arrive on Blu-ray high definition, and the series’ debut on the high definition format is a visual treat. Featuring standout color reproduction, fine attention to detail, and depth, the film never offers a dull visual moment. From the bright courtyards of Marshall College to the dark, cavernous chambers the adventurers find themselves in later in the film, the image never falters in reproducing excellent results for every frame. The film often features a yellow-gold color palette; overhead lighting often places above character’s heads and objects a distinctive sheen. Likewise, many sets feature a strong yellow or golden color scheme Flesh tones sometimes take a turn toward this shade as well, and they range from normal to golden to red, though the effect seems more a result of lighting and makeup rather than being any fault of the transfer; Cate Blanchett’s character, Dr. Spalko, almost always appears ghostly white, while Ray Winstone’s character, Mac, generally appears beat red. Black levels are excellent with no apparent crushing. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull offers viewers wonderful imagery that revels in the fine attention to detail the filmmakers incorporated into the picture, and it comes to remarkably vivid life on this Blu-ray disc.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull features a great Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Action sequences are immersive but not monumentally loud, complete but not overdone. The track always seems to be at just the right volume with nothing going overboard for the sake of pumping out extraneous sounds. Bass is here in abundance, but it is always tight and precise; a waterfall sequence in chapter 13 is as good as it gets. The bass is strong and realistic, but not superfluous or pumped up for greater effect Dialogue is strong and robust, clean and precise. Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’s lossless soundtrack ranks as one of the finest available on Blu-ray, and if for nothing else, hearing John Williams’ always entertaining score in full lossless glory is reason enough to add this disc to your Blu-ray collection.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has a bunch of special features:
Disc One:
• Featurette: “The Return of a Legend” (HD, 18 minutes) – A look back at the development process behind Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. All involved with the franchise admit to thinking the series was done with Last Crusade. As with all the featurettes, we get new interviews with just about everyone involved with the film, including Spielberg, George Lucas, Harrison Ford and all the major stars and crew, plus tons of behind-the-scenes footage. (The best part: The numerous clips from the past Indy films, which give us our first chance to see the classic trilogy in high-def.)
• Featurette: “Pre-Production” (HD, 11 minutes) – The script elements, locations, costumes and final casting are all discussed, including the return of some familiar faces (including Karen Allen), and a few who are missing.
• Theatrical Trailers (HD) – There are two clips, a teaser and a trailer.
Disc Two
• Production Diaries (HD, 80 minutes) – A six-part dissection of the entire production process. “The Making of the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls” is amazingly comprehensive (almost to the point of overkill), with the key sequences and plot concoctions being torn apart piece by piece. The doc is organized in a clear way around each main location, with the six sections being: “Shooting Begins: New Mexico,” “Back To School: New Haven, Connecticut,” “Welcome to the Jungle: Hilo, Hawaii,” “On-Set Action,” “Exploring Akator” and “Wrapping Up!”
• Featurette: “Warrior Makeup” (HD, 5 minutes) – A short look at the design and make-up for the film’s temple natives, as seen in the final act.
• Featurette: “The Crystal Skulls” (HD, 10 minutes) The various historical story elements are discussed, as is creation of the extensive props seen in the film.
• Featurette: “Iconic Props” (HD, 10 minutes) – Spielberg intros yet more on the film’s myriad of props, including various vehicles, costuming and, of course, Indy’s famous bullwhip.
• Featurette: “The Effects of Indy” (HD, 22 minutes) – This visit to ILM examines all of the film’s major effects elements There is a lot of discussion of how CGI composites have now replaced matte paintings and other traditional effects techniques.
• Featurette: “Adventures in Post-Production” (HD, 12 minutes) – A quick overview of the finishing touches, including final effects, fine-tuning the story, and a much-welcome visit with composer John Williams, who gets to revisit one of his most undeniably famous scores.
• Featurette: “Closing: Team Indy” (HD, 3 minutes) – Curtain call of all major cast and crew.
• Pre-Visualization Sequences (HD, 14 minutes) – Three roughly four-minute segments are offered, each a rough CGI rendering of an action scene. The sequences are: “Area 51 Escape,” “Jungle Chase” and “Ants Attack.”
• Still Galleries (HD) – An impressive set of still galleries. The navigation is easy, and the graphics slick. There are well over two hundred images, divided into three sections. Falling under the “Art Department” tag are “The Adventure Begins,” “Cemetery and Jungle” and “Akator,” while the late Stan Winston gives us “Corpses, Skeletons & Mummies” and “Aliens & Crystal Skulls.” The last section features “Production Photographs,” “Portraits” and “Behind-the-Scenes Photographs.” All images are in HD resolution.
Accessible on Disc One, this feature is available only on the Blu-ray release.
• Indiana Jones Timeline – This text- and graphic-based function makes use of the Blu-ray format’s BD-Java capabilities. There are three timelines — “History,” “Production” and “Story.” Each is a sequential series of screens that tells a chronological narrative. In the case of “History,” it gives us background on key real-life events that shaped the script. “Story” relays plot history about the Crystal Skulls and various characters in the film. Finally, “Production” gives milestones in the long and convoluted development process of the movie.
