Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on M6: should we rehabilitate this unloved film?
The cursed saga film returns to television this evening. What if we gave him a second chance?
M6 continues its rebroadcast of the Indiana Jones saga this Tuesday evening with The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Cand is the unloved episode really as catastrophic as the fans say? After the release of the 5th part, in 2023, First tried to answer the question.
“Indiana Jones is a trilogy“, “Indiana Jones 4 does not exist“. For 15 years, fans of the saga have been ironic about The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Considered a disaster, the 4th part of the adventures of the famous archaeologist is marked with infamy. And it’s not just a tweet joke. A few years ago, the BBC rebroadcast Indiana Jones for Christmas, knowingly omitting episode 4. Same denial during the screening organized in 2017 by Cinémas Pathé and presented by Philippe Rouyer, simply entitled “Once upon a time… The Indiana Jones trilogy”. Hard for the biggest success of the franchise, which grossed nearly 800 million dollars worldwide. So, did Steven Spielberg and George Lucas rape Indiana Jones like in the famous South Park episode?
Whether we like it or not, Indiana Jones 4 does exist. And he is even more alive than ever since the release of the 5th film, Indiana Jones and the Clock of Destinywhich absolutely does not erase the events of Crystal Skull (we won’t tell you more so as not to spoil it). Faced with this favorable moment to rewatch the saga, or to introduce it to your children, it is tempting to skip 4. But no, the cursed offspring is indeed part of the family. And it has not been shamefully forgotten by Disney Plus, which picked up the films a few weeks ago. Nor by W9, which is rebroadcasting it this evening to complete its cycle.
Goodbye Indiana Jones 4 in 2023 brings back painful memories. The fridge scene, for which Spielberg took full responsibility (“It’s my fault, not George’s. Now people don’t say jump the shark but nuke the fridge, and I’m proud of it.”). Cate Blanchett’s Russian accent, even worse in French. And CGI sometimes worthy of The Mummy (the giant ants that devour Igor Jijikine and of course the atrocious and useless shot of the alien at the end of the film). But, with hindsight and putting the Dial of Destiny into perspective, we cannot help but find positive points in it.
Indiana Jones was 64 years old on the set ofIndiana Jones 4. In a premonitory scene, Shia LaBeouf mocks the aging hero by telling him that he must be 80, the age Harrison Ford is today for the release of 5. In reality, he was still on fire at the time. In great shape, the actor trained three hours a day for the film, and performed a large part of the stunts himself. And his famous jokes have the same vigor as in the first three Indys.
Shia LaBeouf, let’s talk again. He is absolutely perfect as Henry Jones Jr.’s hidden son, with his look modeled on Marlon Brando from The Wild Team. The return of the character of Marion (Karen Allen) is also a success, as is the performance of John Hurt, brilliant as an old madman lost in the depths of Latin America. And then there is Spielberg, his mastery and his iconic sense of plan. The chase scene on a university campus where an anti-communist demonstration is taking place is a model of the genre, and one of the best in the saga. Another good point seen from today: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull turn your back on the misogyny of Cursed Temple and of The last crusadereconnecting with The Lost Ark where Marion (already her) played a strong and independent female character.
If the actors and the direction are there, it is however more complicated to rehabilitate the scenario. Spielberg and Ford were very skeptical of George Lucas’ idea of incorporating aliens into Indiana Jones. It was not bad in itself, nor too bizarre for a saga where we have already encountered angels of death, an evil priest specializing in heart removal or a thousand-year-old Knight of the Round Table. But she was a damn pain in the ass, and the Crystal Skull clearly tripped over himself.
Nor will we go so far as to say, like Quentin Tarantino, that the Crystal Skull is better than The Last Crusade (“This movie is boring as hell, it seems Stop or my mother will shoot”). He clearly remains the black sheep of the saga. But he does not deserve the opprobrium he has suffered for so many years. And his final scene, where Indy and Marion get married, offered a happy and honest, if not glorious, conclusion for our beloved adventurer.
Our review of Indiana Jones 5, the very surprising final episode of the franchise
