Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull – Story Reception

Today, many film sequels are set up in quick succession. They follow one another from year to year or with only a few years between them. Examples are prevalent throughout the superhero film genre; these include the Batman series, the Spider-Man series, and the X-Men series. In fact, hero films in general have done this, ranging all the way from James Bond to the more recent Harry Potter. However, there are some film series that make sequels many years after the previous release, mostly due to the limits of technology during the filming of the preceding movie. One of these heroes has been well known to audiences of a wide range of age groups. This hero is none other than George Lucas’ own legendary creation, Indiana Jones.

While it hasn’t been the first to fit in this category, Indiana Jones, played by Harrison Ford as one of the actor’s most famous roles, has had his fame blown to massive proportions due to his series that expanded over the course of a few films. His first film, Raiders of the Lost Ark opened in 1981, followed by Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in 1984, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 1989. Skipping the television series, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, which ran from 1992 to 1996 and only had the famous actor in one scene at the end of an episode, it has been quite some time since Indy has graced the silver screen. This all changed with the fourth entry to the Indiana Jones franchise, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, released May 22, 2008.

The film’s release time, nineteen years after The Last Crusade, caused joy in many fans of the character. Despite the extreme length of time between film continuity, the film doesn’t seem all that different when compared to the previous trilogy. Indy still acts like Indy, still sounds like Indy, and still looks like Indy, just aged. The story still contains the same plot as the other entries in the series: Indy hunting a priceless artifact and overcoming obstacles in his quest. It’s a tried and true formula that embodies the old saying, “If it’s not broken, then don’t fix it.”

For this outing, the treasure is a little different than the ones in the other three films. All of the previous artifacts were historical, or at the very least, of earthly material. The fourth film offers a quite literal departure of this trend. Instead of finding a treasure used for religious purposes, the object in question is a mysterious crystal skull. For some reason, it seems that the directors had tired of the confines of our home planet and decided to invoke the otherworldly theme of aliens. While this certainly is a path that could have been taken, it just doesn’t seem to fit in with the treasures of the previous films. Indy has traveled all over the world to find artifacts that reside on Earth and that’s the formula that audiences are used to. However, to suddenly introduce an artifact from the depths of outer space itself seems to be a little bit of a stretch. Due to the film exuding a sense of finality, it does make sense to end it with the last unexplored frontier our human minds can imagine.

To further expand on the story, despite offering nothing new in the way of formula, it did manage to entice the audience by retaining its roots. The details of the story, mostly angled at alien visitors from outer space, were brand new and completely out of left field. Audiences probably weren’t expecting to see a UFO in an Indiana Jones film; this plot element and the story it is settled in managed to help and hinder the film in different ways. It helped by offering something original for Indy, something that hadn’t been tapped before. It introduced new characters to the story, helping flesh out a character that already had plenty of characterization from his previous films. Additionally, it proved that age has nothing to do with affecting the story. Despite the years in between, the age gap is hardly noticeable and the story makes use of it by adding some humorous instances to bring attention to it.

In some ways, though, the story was a little, what one might call, “campy.” With the introduction of aliens, some fans felt that the story had overstepped its boundaries, even going so far as to call the film absurd. It was a new route, one that did not agree with every person who saw the film.

The major consensus for the film is that even though the plot runs on the same formula, the elements that made the first three Indy films such a hit are still present in the fourth entry and that is enough to make audience still enjoy the movie. This was apparent even before the film was released. A major part of the marketing theme relied on the public’s memories of the previous films. Feelings of nostalgia ran high, enticing people to see the film because they had “seen the others before.” For the most part, people weren’t disappointed. Indy took a chance by returning to the big screen after such a long absence and it was worth it. Indiana Jones was greeted with open arms and a warm reception by fans and casual movie goes alike. It just goes to prove that, even in old age, heroes who have etched themselves in the hearts and minds of the public can be received with positive reviews once again.

Till next time,
Richard Jicha