In Defense of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Cate Blanchett's hair makes me ill.

If anybody here follows me on Twitter (@jamesthorpey ...follow me, you know you want to) or Facebook, you may have noticed that I have been rewatching the Indiana Jones saga on the ol' DVD over the past week. I started "live-tweeting" the movies I watch (well, sometimes), attempting to make funny & witty remarks. But I noticed something while watching Kingdom of the Crystal Skull last night, at least compared to the other films in the series:

Whassat?

It isn't that bad.

Wait..what? Oh well, I still love you, Marion Ravenwood.

I know, I know. Blasphemy. But I think a lot of the complaints don't stem from the campiness, which is present in every film, nor Shia LaBeouf's Mutt Williams/Henry Jones, III (he was way more likeable than Willie in Temple of Doom). No, I think I speak for most when I say that most that the viewers and Indy fans cried bullshit at the aliens.

Was kind of hoping for this the entire time, though. I mean, John Hurt was involved.

But why? It isn't like any of the other Indy films were based in reality. Well, you know what I mean. In Raiders, you had the Ark of the Covenant, which melted/shrunk/blew up the heads of the Nazis (and Frenchman) through the vengeful wrath of God.

Don't feel bad. This dick was a Nazi.

In Temple of Doom, a guy rips the heart out of another man, the gaping hole magically heals, and the guy is still alive. Oh, and then when he's plunged into a swirling pool of lavafire (yup...lavafire), his (still beating) heart is engulfed in flames.

He's the most recent member of the Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes Lodge.

And then you have Last Crusade, which features not only a centuries old Templar knight (that is so old it seems he turned black & white), but the villain turns to bones & is magically thrown across the cavern by...I don't know. The Force?

Tell me that man is not in black & white.

So why is it that everybody went bananas over the aliens? It actually makes sense. Hell, Lucas & the screenwriters actually seem to have done some research and involved a myth that many actually believe. And, when George Lucas actually does something that doesn't involve putting a beak on something, you should take notice (overrated as he is). Go back, and rewatch the Indy story from the beginning. Immerse yourself in Raiders, Temple, Last Crusade, and, finally, Crystal Skull, and then tell me why it's awful. I dare you. Be objective. Don't watch them through the rose colored glasses of youthful memories, and you will see four well made adventure movies. And hey, I'm not saying that KotCS isn't the worst in the series. I'm just saying that it didn't suck.

Would you rather have this movie? I mean, I'd still see it, but still.