Indy IV was good, not great, good. At times, it does a great job reminding us that the Mummy and National Treasure are bush league garbage next to the man with the whip. At other times, it reminds us of the problems that the Mummy and National Treasure introduced to the action-adventure genre.
Computer Generated Idiocy
The main problem: CGI. Why is there so much obvious CGI in Indy IV? WHY?
I’m not anti-CGI. I think it has it’s place. And that place is not in Indiana Jones movies. And the sting is more painful due to misleading claims from the film’s creators (including Steve-o Spielberg)
“There really wasn’t much CGI. We built all the sets… We built all of the [moving stone staircases, converging stone pillars and other pieces] so it was very nice.” -Indy IV set designer
Now compare that statement to the title of the AP review, “‘Indiana Jones’ and the computer-generated jungle”
LIES! “You sit on a throne of lies!”
Artifact Obscurity
Watching Indiana Jones and the Obscure Artifact Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls was a form of cinematic therapy for me. As in realizing its central flaw I was illuminated to the presence of the same error in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom:
I do not believe in, and have a sense of awe for, both of those films’ final “treasure”.
Myriad childhood Sundays were spent listening to boring sermons on Jesus and the Last Supper or reading about Moses in Exodus. There’s natural awe-building in these experiences. The Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail are part of my WASPy religious culture. The end result of this religious steeping cannot be understated, when I watch the 1st and 3rd Indiana Jones, I believe that these treasures hold the power assigned to them by the script and I’m awe-struck when they exhibit their powers.
Before watching IJATTOD, I had never heard of the Shankara stones and preceding IJKOTCS I lacked any knowledge of crystal skulls (beyond obligatory Wikipedia research). And it’s not only a lack of knowledge of the treasures themselves, but a lack of immersion in the religious cultures encompassing them. I didn’t grow up in an Indian culture (unfortunately as they know how to throw a party) and I certainly didn’t mature in a Mayan civilization (even more unfortunate, Mayans were sweet. Don’t believe Mel Gibson’s lies!)
Sumaria
In the end, Harrison Ford still nails Indy’s character (Han Solo is a n00b), Shia’s always solid and William Hurt’s consistently impresses me as a reliable crazy person so the movie’s worth the price of admission. If they do it again (and they might), let’s hope George “I suck” Lucas picks a treasure I’ve heard of before and Industrial Light and Magic doesn’t phone-in the special effects.
Indy IV: six googly eyes (out of ten)
Rating:
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