Indiana Jones and the Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (2008) Review

Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (2008)

Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull follows Indiana Jones, who, after receiving word a former colleague and Marion are in danger, sets off for South America to uncover a crystal skull and return it to the lost city of El Dorado. 

19 years after Indy last graced our screens, he makes his return in the 1950s set Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, seeing the famed archeologist take on the legend of El Dorado with the help of Marion and their son. Now, although this film has it’s fair share of questionable moments (that can almost all be attributed to George Lucas’ ridiculous writing), such as the killer ants, the absurd monkey scene, the infamous fridge nuke, and the extraterrestrial rival to the ending of Raiders, this definitely isn’t the unmitigated disaster you may remember it being. As a matter if fact, there’s actually quite a lot to like about Crystal Skull. 

Under all of that CGI, there’s a pretty fun movie to be had, begging the viewer to just turn the brain off for a bit and enjoy. There’s a nice tinge of nostalgia to the whole film, especially in seeing Indiana and Marion reunited again, with that oh so loving glint in her eye. The Nazis this time have been traded out for the USSR, a fairly solid contemporary villain, though they don’t hold a candle to any main trilogy villains. The revelation that Mutt (Henry Jones III) was actually the son Indy never knew about was obvious from the start, I still rather enjoyed their constant banter however, as it always brought out the more cynical and Indiana-like humor from Harrison Ford. 

We get a decent cast too, starring Igor Jijikine, Ray Winstone, John Hurt, Karen Allen, Cate Blanchett, Shia LaBeouf, and Harrison Ford. Boy, for Ford being 65 at the time, you’d hardly be able to tell. He brings so much life to Indy and this movie, with a physicality and humor I didn’t expect at all, never shying away from the stunt heavy aspects of the film, while pairing well with so much of the cast, despite their relatively phoned-in performances. 

Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, directed by Steven Spielberg, is, for obvious reasons, the weakest in the franchise thus far, but it’s its carefree attitude and nostalgia driven story that allow this mashup between aliens and ancient civilizations to still be rather fun, definitely asking for a second chance from anyone who enjoys these movies.

7.8/10