Thursday, May 22, 2008

'Crystal Skull' shimmers then fades

By Andrew Gaug

There's a special feeling one gets when sitting through a sequel to a classic film. It's a mixture of uneasiness and slight sadness as the said follow-up does away with all the things that made the previous films good. I often refer to the as "'The Matrix' feeling." And "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" gives viewers that feeling in spades.

It's not easy to say exactly where the movie goes wrong. Harrison Ford reprises his classic archaeologist role with the same sarcastic charm added with the cragginess of an older man. The supporting cast, including "Transformers" Shia LeBouf and Cate Blanchett, have fun playing different roles for both. The story seems to want to have as much fun as the cast, but is too cluttered to do so.

Jumping from the Nazi story lines of the '30s to Red Scare of the '50s, Jones is faced with fighting a group of Soviet Union agents led by Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett) in search of an alien corpse in Area 51.

Of course, Jones escapes his capture as well as a nuclear blast, proving this is the same Indy that can't be slowed down by anything, except a young greaser named Mutt Williams (Shia LeBouf) who has been ordered by his mother to get Jones to free their deranged father, Oxley, and find out the mystery behind an extraterrestrial artifact known as the Crystal Skull.

As with all the "Indiana Jones" films, it's a bit far-fetched. But the movies have always kept to a slightly B-Movie, pulp comic tone where the hero never loses its hat no matter how bad the situation and gets mixed up in many absurd situations.

There are some moments, such as a car chase scene in the jungle and exchanges between Jones and his estranged partner Marion Ravenwood (Raiders of the Lost Ark's Karen Allen), that recall classic "Indiana Jones." Other moments, such as a pointless quicksand scene, seem to be grasping at anything to keep the feeling of adventure going.

Unfortunately, the movie is more of the latter.

The film never seems to be able to find a balance between trying to deconstruct the endless mythology of the Crystal Skull and fitting in some adventure in-between. At about the midway point, the movie just seems to give up and throw in multiple action sequences before sputtering out-of-control in one of the most senseless finales a blockbuster has ever had.

What "Jones" fans may have trouble adjusting to is that this movie is much glossier than its predecessors. Spielberg makes liberal use of today's technology including lots of CGI and more camera tricks. Some of it may come off as distracting to purists, but it works for what the story was trying to achieve.

The cast also makes use of the convoluted story with Ford looking more energized than any moment in 2006's "Firewall." LeBouf makes for a decent apprentice as Mutt, though both his character and Ravenwood get lost in the mess of the movie's second half.

You can't fault Spielberg for being ambitious with what could be Indy's final installment. But the movie seems too forced and confused to be a necessary sequel in the franchise.

Hopefully Indy will crack-the-whip one last time after "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," if not for the sake of reprising the role one last time, then to make up for this disappointment.