From Sankara Stones to the Ark of the Covenant to the Holy Grail to the Crystal Skulls

Peter Chattaway on the spiritual (in)significance of the Indiana Jones series.

the shot of the scene

Here is an in-depth look at Indy's confrontation with Belloq in a Cairo bar. Spielberg shows his genius.

Really, is there a better dressed and more debonair villain in the cinematic world than René Belloq? Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter tried, but didn't succeed in quite the same way. Speaking of Lecter, I'd much rather bump into him in a dark alley than this guy.

"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"

Let's get the whole age thing out of the way, okay? Harrison Ford was 65 years old when he took up the whip and fedora of Indiana Jones, perhaps his most famous screen character, for the fourth time. There has been some concern about how his age would affect his ability to handle - and make believable - all the stuntwork that Indiana Jones movies seem to demand. After all, he had to fight Nazis twice his size and slide in the dirt behind a truck in Raiders.

Rest assured - Indy is more than capable of handling Russians half his age, maybe a third his age. He jumps across the beams of a warehouse ceiling. He leaps from car to car to pummel some bad guys. He figures out the best way to evade a nuclear blast. He still knows how to use his whip for maximum effectiveness. He even takes off his shirt - something he didn't do in Last Crusade, when he was merely 46 years old - to show off a chiseled look.

The plot, revolving around a crystal skull that defininitely does not appear human, is a bit thinner than the three previous movies. There's a lot more exposition this time around, presumably because the audience knows less about crystal skulls than it does about the Holy Grail and the Ark of the Covenant. Without giving away too much, I'll just say that the ending is reminiscent of two previous Spielberg films - if you've seen Crystal Skull already, you know which ones I mean.

The much-discussed return of Marion Ravenwood to the Indy saga is indeed welcome. She's the pluckiest and spunkiest female lead of the entire series, the perfect antidote to the chilliness of Elsa Schneider and the whininess of Willie Scott. Her voice may be less husky than it was in Raiders, but her spirit has certainly remained the same. And, yes, there is certainly a connection between Indy, Marion, and her son Mutt, played by Shia LaBeouf.

If you want a film that's intricately plotted with a firm grounding in reality, I'm afraid you'll have to look elsewhere. If, however, you are seeking a thrill ride of a film that fits perfectly into the Indiana Jones canon, then Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is for you. If you're not yet convinced, let me offer two final words: giant ants.

Indiana Jones, past and present

Here's the trailer for the original:

See? Got you hooked all over again...

I have a few thoughts about what I expect from Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which I'm going to see tonight ---

1. The film usually opens with a mini-adventure for Indy. Raiders had Indy trekking through Peru, searching for a gold idol and ultimately losing it to rival Belloq. Temple of Doom had Indy zooming through the streets of Shanghai. Last Crusade was a flashback to Indy obtaining, and then losing, a golden cross that once belonged to Spanish explorer Cortez; we also saw how Indy acquired his hat, his whip, and his fear of snakes. Will Crystal Skull follow the same formula, or will we see something new?

2. I'm glad, glad, glad to see the return of Marion Ravenwood, and I'm not alone. Although she was constantly in situations that required Indy to save her, she wasn't the stereotypical damsel-in-distress that we have seen in earlier films like this. She was spunky, cool, and totally willing to defend herself ("I don't know what kind of people your used to dealing with, Herr Mac, but nobody tells me what to do in my place.") While I enjoyed Willie Scott when Temple of Doom first came out (give me a break - I was 13 years old), she hasn't held up well over time. She screamed about riding an elephant, she wailed about breaking a nail, and she's an all-around irritant to the movie. Elsa Schneider was the most gorgeous of the three love interests, but she also proved to be selfish and complicit with evil men.

3. I wonder what the fate of Cate Blanchett's character, Irina Spalko, will be. Indy's rivals don't fare well at all. Dietrich and Toht literally melted when exposed to the power of the Ark; Belloq simply exploded. Mola Ram fell off a cliff and was eaten by ferocious crocodiles. Walter Donovan drank from a false Grail, aged 100 years in 10 seconds, and turned into goo. Elsa fell down a pit trying to retrieve the Grail. Will Irina meet an equally disturbing end?

4. Indy has not been able to hold on to the main "Maguffin" of each film. The Ark of the Covenant is packed in a crate, stored in a warehouse filled with seemingly millions of other crates. The Sankara Stone returns to the village from whence it was stolen. The Grail stays in the Canyon of the Crescent Moon. Will Indy get to keep the crystal skull?

Just a few hours more...

Update: Go here for a blog-a-thon of (almost) all things Indy.

reviews for "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"

The movie of the summer opens in just a few days. I plan to see it with some friends, and hopefully talk about it here sometime afterwards. Reviews are already pouring in, and although there are some who didn't like it, I don't think negative critiques will make a difference at the box office. Indy is, and always has been, for the fans. Even Raiders was made for fans of the action/adventure genre; it's just that the film was such a quality work that the critics loved - and still love - it.

Roger Ebert gave the film 3.5 stars (out of 4): "I can say that if you liked the other Indiana Jones movies, you will like this one, and that if you did not, there is no talking to you. And I can also say that a critic trying to place it into a heirarchy with the others would probably keep a straight face while recommending the second pound of sausage." You'll have to read the full review to see why Ebert's talking about sausage.

Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly gave it a B-: "In this revival of the Indiana Jones franchise, everything is new and nothing is new. The movie's legacy may simply be the melee that ensues when Spielberg cracks the whip and moviegoers scurry for tickets."

Jennie Yabroff of Newsweek calls the film's plot "particularly unnecessarily hokey and complex," and "Indy World is a place you can visit again and again, where nothing ever really changes, and, as this latest tour affirms, after two hours you'll be quite ready to go home." Read her full review with care: she reveals the relationship between Indy and new sidekick Mutt, which has been speculated upon for some time.

If Indy IV is a success (and there is no "if", really - it will be successful), Spielberg has said he will probably make more.

the poster

Here. Plus some spoilery stuff.

forget it, Belloq - you can't stop me from getting this

I usually don't get too excited about toys, but I can't wait for this!

"You Americans, you're all the same. Always overdressing for the wrong occasions."

This past Sunday's VMA's were pretty unmemorable, except for Britney Spears' performance, memorable for all the wrong reasons. We did get to hear one important thing, however: the title of the Indiana Jones 4 movie. See here.