The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (12A)

Starring: Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, Shia LaBeouf, Ray Winstone, John Hurt

Harrison Ford returns once more as the intrepid archeologist, as he attempts to beat the Soviets at uncovering the mysteries behind an ancient artifact from his past, in the fourth adventure from George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.

The film also stars Cate Blanchett (The Lord of the Rings trilogy), Ray Winstone (Beowulf), Shia LaBeouf (Transformers), Jim Broadbent (Hotfuzz), John Hurt (The Proposition) and sees the return of Karen Alan (Raiders of the Lost Ark), reprising her role as Marion Ravenwood.

Ok, so let’s get this out of the way. Indiana Jones is old. Harrison Ford is old. That’s nature for you and with the recent spate of dire comebacks from other pensionable action heroes, it’s not surprising that the film has met with some apprehension and harsh criticism. However, as comebacks go, this isn’t so bad. It’s certainly lacks something compared to it’s prequels, the last of which was released nearly twenty years ago in 1989, but it at least retains the key elements such as characterization, effects and script, that distinguish the previous three films, which is where other recent attempts have failed.

Visually, an attempt was made to maintain the feel across all four movies, with the maker’s endeavor to use as little CGI as possible, returning instead to use of matt paintings, models and green screening. Of course there are some obvious CGI effects in the film (this is George Lucas after all) but they are forgivable and few.

Forgivable also is the fewer number of close up shots during stunt sequences, as presumably Harrison isn’t quite up to performing as many of his own as before. However, this doesn’t really subtract too much from the myriad number of action sequences.
The script is happily what you’d expect. Nothing terribly deep or clever but witty and pacey, with its tongue firmly in its cheek.

All the support is as strong as it needs to be, including a, thankfully, not so annoying performance from Shia LaBeouf, Cate Blanchett camping it up (including typical Indiana Jones dodgy accent) and the minimalist but strong presence of John Hurt.

Although the film does seem to drag a little at times and is possibly a little more far fetched than even The Last Crusade, it’s certainly entertaining and fun. Indi fans should not be disappointed.

Thank you to the Odeon Cinema, Leicester

By Tom Smith