I watched Indiana Jones & the Dial of Destiny last weekend. Seeing it made me want to revisit the series – in particular the most controversial entry, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Maybe I’m just comparing it with DoD (which I found good but underwhelming), but I watched the whole thing and I honestly think that KotCS is a decent movie that doesn’t deserve the level of hate it receives.
That’s not to say it’s perfect, nor that it can go toe-to-toe with Raiders of the Lost Ark. Its flaws are obvious. The CGI is not great and never was. The fridge and ant scenes push my suspension of disbelief. Harrison Ford’s age is a sticking point, and Spielberg’s action sequences don’t feel as exciting as 80s’ Spielberg. The parts where Mutt is repeatedly hit in the balls and when he swings on vines are downright painful to watch. And the inclusion of aliens (sorry, inter-dimensional beings) was jarring at the time.
But there are some redeeming factors, particularly in retrospect.
I genuinely enjoy the dynamic between Indiana and Mutt. It’s a good comparison to Sr. and Jr.’s dynamic in Last Crusade. I also think this dynamic has improved with time, as now we have the benefit of hindsight knowing that no, Mutt would not be taking over as the series protagonist.
The sci-fi elements don’t feel as jarring now as they once did. Two things have helped this: 1) I’ve had fifteen years to sit with the movie and get used to it. 2) Without spoiling anything, DoD’s plot and mcguffin are mostly sci-fi with some borderline fantasy, which has helped make KotCS less of a black sheep.
Ford’s age doesn’t bother me as much as it once did. I think the constant in-film jokes about his age really didn’t help this one. However, now that I’ve had a lot of time to get used to it - and let’s be honest, knowing that he’s in his 80s in DoD makes KotCS seem less extreme by comparison – it just doesn’t stand out as much anymore. But this point is probably entirely cope so oh well. <Edit> Actually, on second thought, it’s kind of nice to see a story with a 50-something protagonist still doing protagonist things. It does push my suspension of disbelief seeing him do a lot of his action-y things, but I suppose it’s technically possible if he’s in good shape. And as a 27-year old who’s been in my quarter life crisis for ten years, I find it life-affirming. </edit>
Finally, I like the story. The underlying story being told about the characters is actually pretty strong imo. I enjoy the arc of Indiana, Mutt, and Marion’s relationships. And even though the main plot was panned at the time, in an age where every series is playing it safe and relying on nostalgia it’s refreshing to go back to a movie that pushed the boundaries enough to get it wrong. Again, DoD, while not bad, did not handle the characters all that well, and played a lot of things safe. It lacked incredible lows, but it lacked incredible highs too.
Despite its deep lows, KotCS does deliver classic-Indy highs, imho. And that’s why, in this era of so many blah, safe movies, I think the fourth installment of Indiana Jones deserves reconsideration.
(I am totally not George Lucas)
Honestly, I think Crystal Skull’s main problem is regardless of the quality of the movie, the franchise already ended.
The Last Crusade wrapped up the series perfectly (in my opinion) and even the title implied it should be the end (“The Last Crusade” referring to the most recent attempt to obtain the Holy Great and also Indy’s final adventure). I know nothing happens which technically prevents another movie; but it bookends the series well by bringing back Sallah and Nazis from Raiders and it even literally ends with him riding off into the sunset.
It was written in such a way because Lucas and Spielberg didn’t have anything left to say with the franchise or character, and there was no fruit left on the vine (so to speak).
A lot of the issues people have with Crystal Skull come from it trying to do something new with the character and setting since the story was already completed in the previous installment.
All this to say I don’t think it was a bad movie necessarily, just one which struggles to validate its own existence.