Copyright © 2012 Raising Jack. All Rights Reserved. Snowblind by Themes by bavotasan.com. Powered by WordPress.
It occurs to me that I never wrote about my reaction to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull when it was first released when it was pretty clear that I’d been looking forward to it a lot.
That wasn’t because I didn’t enjoy it; on the contrary I enjoyed it a lot. There were some aspects of it that were clumsy (like the flying saucer ending) and a little overdone (like every scene John Hurt had), but on the whole it delivered exactly what I expected.
It was Indiana Jones complete with all the fun and the flaws that the series has always had. The shout outs to previous films – the Ark of the Covenant, Indy’s sleeping in an airplane, the disapproving father-son moment on a motorbike – were fun to spot even if they were on occasion heavy handed. The reference to young Indy’s adventure with Pancho Villa was a nice call back to the television series that too often ended up being a little too earnest.
And I liked Shia LaBeouf in it. I know that there’s a lot of LaBeouf hate on teh internets but I actually find myself quite liking the guy. He played Mutt Williams with just the right amount of tough-guy attitude that he couldn’t pull off, just like his movie dad – and there were a couple of moments where he channeled that relationship perfectly. I could see a Mutt Jones movie, actually. I’d pay to see it.
The inclusion of aliens and the Roswell mythos in the movie weren’t as jarring to me as they could have been, mainly because I had time to get used to the idea. I like the conceit that Indiana Jones lives in the literature of his time. In the 30s he was a pulp hero; in the 50s he’s embroiled in science fiction. I’d like to think that he’d be a spy in the 60s and an antihero in the 70s, too.
All in all, I liked it. Bringing back Karen Allen was a good call, and Ray Winstone slotted in perfectly.
Oh, and Alan Dale?
Legend in his own time, I say. Not bad for a guy from Erinsborough.
an anti hero in the 70′s intriguing idea. i wonder if this there’s any indy novels that are out of the movies but in cannon
dude! Thanks a lot for making the Neighbours link with Alan Dale.
I have been reading your quite brilliant blog for about six months now and this the first Aussie quote you’ve had where I’ve had to applaud and comment.
10 pop culture points.
I hate Neighbours as much as most Australians but you’ve got give Alan Dale some credit. He’s pulled himself up from the mire hasn’t he.
Stephen – I like the idea too! Most of the novels seem to be set before the main movies sadly.
Koma – Thanks! Neighbors was big in the UK when I was in school, and its funny seeing Alan Dale cropping up on shows like The OC and Lost the last few years in big roles – but having him share the screen with Harrison Ford was just…awesome!