Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

The newest Indiana Jones adventure begins in the desert Southwest in 1957 – the height of the Cold War. Indy and his sidekick Mac have barely escaped a close scrape with nefarious Soviet agents on a remote airfield. Now, Professor Jones has returned home to Marshall College – only to find things have gone from bad to worse. His close friend and dean of the college explains that Indy's recent activities have made him the object of suspicion, and that the government has put pressure on the university to fire him. On his way out of town, Indiana meets rebellious young Mutt, who carries both a grudge and a proposition for the adventurous archaeologist: If he'll help Mutt on a mission with deeply personal stakes, Indy could very well make one of the most spectacular archaeological finds in history – the Crystal Skull of Akator, a legendary object of fascination, superstition and fear. But as Indy and Mutt set out for the most remote corners of Peru, they quickly realize the Soviet agents are also hot on the trail of the Crystal Skull. Indy and Mutt must find a way to evade the ruthless Soviets, follow an impenetrable trail of mystery, grapple with enemies and friends of questionable motives, and, above all, stop the powerful Crystal Skull from falling into the deadliest of hands. (Paramount Pictures)


review
Crystal Skull is forced into a different historic era due to the aging of the title character. Although I usually do not agree with George Lucas’ creative impulses of late, having loathed his Star Wars “prequels,” I concede that his instincts for setting Indy in the 1950s and focusing on “the atomic age” are spot on. As Indy has always been a modern homage to B cinema, looking toward 1950s B movies for inspiration is a brave choice.

review
Spielberg’s cinematic language has become so economical; it’s a marvel to watch him tell this story so successfully in only two hours. There is more packed into this new Indiana Jones than any of it’s predecessors. Some may feel the more periphery characters suffer from lack of development but what we are given—if not extensive biographical detail—is all perfectly clear.