There comes a time when you review a film, that you find yourself teetering between the positive and the negative, and it's worse when the negative is pretty- bad but the positive is so good.
Enter on that scale, planted slightly off center towards the positive, the new Indiana Jones movie. Because I like to end a review on a positive if it’s a good film (and make no mistake, this is a fun movie, a good film), let’s reign in the disappointments first, shall we?
If this were a made for TV movie reunion, it would get the highest praise for any TV reunion ever. From the originals we all know and love, there is an ingredient that is missing here, and that special something is called Lawrence Kasdan. When Lucas needed a tightly woven screenplay for Empire, Jedi, and the first three Indiana Jones films, he turned to Kasdan. The dialogue crackled. He was a master of dialogue, delivery, and those classic looks the characters would give. I have no doubt that Spielberg harnessed much of that character interaction, but after so long working with screenwriter and collaborator David Keopp (Jurassic Park), you can only do so much with what’s on the printed page. Keopp likes to explain things instead of show them, and as a result there is somewhat a lack of cohesive tightness that you will find in those aforementioned films. Kasdan went on to write and direct the extremely fun Silverado and (pretty good) Grand Canyon after his time with the beards. His influence over the interpretations of our beloved characters is definitely missed.
We can forgive and go with the inconsistency from the previous chapters from the viewpoint that this is 20 years later: Indy has evolved into, well, Harrison Ford. It’s not a bad thing, either, because Harrison is having so much fun here instead of just showing up to work as he’s done in so many recent films. Indiana Jones is definitely back, just a little wiser and quite a bit older. Some of my initial enjoyment was sullied by the fact that there's no going back to that young Indy.
But the script is the key issue, and if I were to sum up this movie, it feels very much like a Jurassic Park movie starring Indiana Jones. Luckily I love Jurassic Park... just not as much as Indiana Jones.
Not wishing to spoil anything, but here are a few plot points that were already given away in the trailer that I would like to address. Ray Winstone, and excellent actor in fare such as King Arthur where he played the magnificent Baz is wasted here, and to be honest his character should have been trimmed all together and more interaction given between Ford and Blanchet. She really is fantastic here; she virtually disappears into her one-dimensional role as the villain (which is fine, all the Indy villains are one-dimensional, and she is splendidly evil). John Hurt is excellent, and to be honest, the heart of the movie. Something about Kane in an Indiana Jones movie about aliens that just works for me… Such irony! He is a charming bag of insanity that helps drive the film forward, playing off of Keopp’s need for exposition through Indiana Jones.
See, what I miss was that Kasdan had a penchant for the action itself being narrative, giving the film that roller coaster feel. When Indiana Jones tells his comrades in Raiders of the Lost Ark that he’s making it up as he goes along, we get that excellent scene that is the truck chase. It felt organic and expertly choreographed. Here the action gets bogged down and repetitive in a few places, and I would say that is a Keopp problem on the page, and a Spielberg problem in the editing room. The Jeep chase is probably the slowest feeling, boring chase in all four films, but I have to say, there are scenes in this film that will thrill you old school.
So perhaps editing is a problem here as well. But if you want to blame Lucas for the editing and some of the goofiness, let’s not blame him for the story. This is one of the best stories he has ever come up with. I would say this idea is second only to Raiders in the story department.
It’s not giving too much away to say we’re talking UFO’s here, area 51 and the like. It’s extremely well done, and is far more thrilling and engaging than the Holy Grail or the Temple of Doom. And the ending in my opinion is the very best in the series. It may not be the “whiz bang” ending of recent action fare, but it ends on an extremely satisfactory note that lets the character move on to a much more interesting stage in his life.
Williams is back with his score which is pretty damn good, but there is one quibble: The orchestra. It’s a much smaller ensemble than his previous troupe, the London Symphony Orchestra. Some of the themes lack that fullness in sound, although the writing itself is superb. I don’t understand the decision not to use LSO, but I guess it doesn’t detract too much.
Lastly Shia is very good here. He’s an excellent actor and plays the 50’s greaser role like an American Graffiti character, and it works. His character gets the ball rolling in many scenes, and it’s a little like the original trilogy Indy we have come to know and love, while the new Indy is more like the scholarly excited archeologist-- think Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park (again).
So there you have it. It ain’t perfect, but who cares? The UFO stuff and most of it is thrilling, entertaining stuff. If you wanna be an archaeologist you’ve gotta get out of the library and just go for it. So stop reading all the reviews and get out there!