PEARSON: Indiana Jones manages to dig up a good time

By Mike Pearson, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published May 21, 2008 at 5:34 p.m.
Updated May 21, 2008 at 7:23 p.m.

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Photo by Lucasfilm

Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

* Grade: B- * Rated: PG-13 * Running time: 126 minutes

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is not the pulse- pounding blockbuster most fans were probably hoping for.

And I'll just get this out of the way: It's not as good as the original, better than the second and slightly worse than the third movie.

It also has a wrinkle perfectly suited to the talents of director Steven Spielberg and producer George Lucas - aliens.

Indeed, Crystal Skull opens with an action scene at Area 51 in Nevada, where KGB agents are trying to steal relics. Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) has been brought along to authenticate the items. His nemesis this time isn't your standard-issue Nazi, but a KGB colonel (Cate Blanchett) with a Clara Bow haircut and the surly disposition of a middle-school lunchroom matron.

Because of Indy's encounter with the KGB, the FBI arranges for him to be given a sabbatical from his teaching job. Enter Mutt (Shia LaBeouf), a wisecracking kid who shows up on a motorcycle a la Marlon Brando in The Wild One. Mutt's mom has been kidnapped in Peru while searching for a mythical crystal skull. She's sent her son to find Professor Jones and give him a cryptic map.

Once in South America, Indy is on familiar ground: ancient tombs, raging rivers, natives with poison darts and mummies. Lots of mummies. There are scorpions, spiders and snakes aplenty, too.

It turns out the skull in question may have been left behind by aliens. It has some pretty peculiar powers. It also turns out that Mutt's mom is none other than Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), Indy's lost love and verbal nemesis.

In the thick of it all are John Hurt as one of Indy's old friends and Ray Winstone as another colleague who may or may not be a double agent. They are wasted characters who make little or no impression.

There's no mistaking the filmmakers' intention to pay homage to the Eisenhower era, from the year the film takes place (1957) to an atomic bomb blast and overt references to McCarthyism. (And did I mention that LaBeouf arrives on the scene like a young Marlon Brando?)

For all its polish and pacing, the film has weaknesses. Some of the plot turns don't make sense. (Why is the FBI hounding Indy if he's a decorated war hero?) The middle of the script is extremely talky without much humor. Plus, Blanchett's Irina Spalko may be the weakest villain ever seen in an Indiana Jones movie. She's a caricature rather than a character.

And if the alien angle doesn't cause the series to jump the shark, the filmmakers at least stroke its belly.

On the plus side, Crystal Skull is rife with action. Yes, Ford looks every bit of 20 years older, and his character is more inclined to fisticuffs than jumping off cliffs. And it's nice to see Allen again, although she doesn't have much to do. LaBeouf acquits himself nicely in a role that mirrors Indiana's recklessness and gruff charm.

Best of all, the filmmakers churn out one close call after another, including a jungle car chase, booby- trapped ruins and an encounter with a mind-blowing waterfall.

One can't say Indiana Jones is back and better than ever; the everything- but-the-kitchen-sink plot lacks coherence. But, on balance, Professor Jones still knows how to show moviegoers a decent time.

Stunning scenes

There are dozens of great action scenes in the first three Indiana Jones films. It's nearly impossible to choose the best from each film, but here's a try:

* Raiders of the Lost Ark: (80 minutes in) The Nazis are about to take the Ark out of the desert by truck. Indy pursues first by horseback, then commandeers a truck. German soldiers in the back of the truck crawl across the top to get to him. One officer succeeds, throwing Indy through the windshield. One of the film's most famous stunts finds Jones holding onto the grill of the truck, then using his whip to slide underneath the speeding vehicle and out the back. It's a stuntman's dream - or nightmare. A half dozen other German vehicles are forced off the road and over cliffs during the chase scene.

* Temple of Doom: (90 minutes in) Indiana, nightclub singer Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw) and sidekick Short Round escape the Temple of Doom inside a mining cart that careens through hairpin turns and over pools of molten lava. Naturally, they're chased by sword-wielding bad guys. They escape to a rope bridge over crocodile-infested water, surrounded by bad guys on all sides. The sequence, which lasts nearly 15 minutes, is one of the bright spots in an otherwise dark movie.

* The Last Crusade: (126 minutes in) Indy and his stubborn father (Sean Connery) attempt to rescue colleague Marcus Brody from inside a German tank racing across the desert. That leads to a fight atop the tank between Indy and a German officer. Close scrapes with the side of the canyon and with the treads of the tank. Pop gets rescued on horseback. The tank heads for a cliff and another spectacular Nazi death. Not as good as the melting faces in the first film, but it'll do.

Think you know your Indiana Jones lore? Test your knowledge:

* 1. What is Indiana Jones' given name?

* 2. Who was Indiana Jones nicknamed after?

* 3. Where was Indiana Jones born?

* 4. What were the names of his parents?

* 5. Where is Indiana Jones a part-time professor of archaeolo gy?

* 6. What's the origin of Indy's fondness for a bullwhip?

* 7. Is there archaeological precedence for the discovery of crystal skulls?

* 8. Where do New Age aficionados say all crystal skulls originated?

* 9. What creature is Indiana Jones most afraid of?

* 10. River Phoenix played young Indiana Jones in The Last Crusade. What was his previous connection to Harrison Ford?

* 11. Chronologically speaking, what is the first artifact Indiana Jones recovers? Hint: It happens in the third film.

* 12. Harrison Ford was recently elected to the board of what organization that reflects the interest of his Indiana Jones character?

* 13. What kind of snakes does Indiana Jones encounter when he uncovers the hiding place of the Ark?

* 14. Who is Abner Ravenwood?

ANSWERS: 1: Henry Walton Jones Jr.; 2: The family dog, Indiana; 3: Princeton, N.J.; 4: Henry Sr. and Anna; 5: Marshall College; 6: In The Last Crusade, young Indiana is trapped on a circus train and uses a whip to keep a lion at bay; 7: They have been found under or near temples in Peru, Mexico and Honduras; 8: Atlantis; 9: Snakes; 10: He played Ford's son in The Mosquito Coast; 11: The Cross of Coronado; 12: The Archaeological Institute of America; 13: Asps and cobras; 14: Indy's mentor and the father of Marion

pearsonm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2592

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