Archives for the Month of May 2008 on media addict
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Indiana Jones is one of my favorite movie franchises. It's a fantastic mix of adventure, world travel and great stunt work. Which makes it such a shame that the newest addition to the series is not that great. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull falls into the same trap as so many other sequels; in the process of trying to recapture what made the original so great, they used the old formula instead of breaking new ground.
The credit sequence for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was very encouraging. Featuring an entertaining driving sequence with creative cinematography, I was really looking forward to what was in store. Despite this interesting start, the movie immediately shows us just how silly it really is. Any time the plot was explained during this film I wanted to vomit. The story can best be described as a combination of Stargate and Alien vs. Predator. At various times Indy is required to figure out where the clues are trying to point them; in true National Treasure fashion, he works it out in seconds with no explanation or logic.
The acting in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is decent with the exception of Cate Blanchett's terrible Russian accent. Shia Lebouf is fine as Indy's sidekick, but his role is reduced once they join up with Karen Allen, John Hurt, and Ray Winstone. This brings me to another major problem I have with this movie, there's far too many characters. Raiders of the Lost Ark was so good for among other reasons how spare it was. While Indy was rarely alone, the side characters came and went and Indy is left to do what he has to do. Here, Indy has a couple of people with him constantly and the filmmakers feel the need to fill the silence with inane dialog.
The action in the first half of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull leads you to believe that we're in for some old school stuntwork with a touch of CGI to polish the rough edges. The motorcycle chase sequence is particularly good. Like so many other films, however, the plot gets in the way of the fun. The second half of the movie gets so over-the-top that I could have well been watching a superhero movie.
Another thing that bothered me about this movie is the overall look of the film. I don't know if they digitally graded this movie, or used some sort of strange filter, but much of the movie has a bizarre smoothness to it. It's just too crisp and almost looks airbrushed. Whatever it is, it detracts from the film. A throwback movie like this should have a throwback look, which means film grain, not super slick digital alteration.
While Indiana Jones has never pretended to be a documentary, it still maintained a level of realism. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on the other hand is in its own universe. The level of sci-fi has been raised past the point of no return at the expense of genuine storytelling and the compelling adventure that made the old movies so great has been replaced with heavy handed computer graphics. 2/5
Iron Man
Iron Man should serve as an example for any science fiction, superhero, or action movie. Put the story and characters first; cast for acting over popularity and the rest will fall into place. Iron Man finally does right what virtually every other recent super-hero movie has done wrong, it keeps it simple.
Let me first say that I know virtually nothing about the Iron Man story and have never followed the cartoons or comic books. While watching the movie I was surprised that this story is in many ways more science fiction than it is superhero. Like Batman's Bruce Wayne, Tony Stark is a normal person who uses his brain and other skills to overcome adversaries. This has always appealed to me more than the purely fantastic superheroes like Spiderman or Superman. This grounding in an alternate reality makes all the scenes showing the creation and modification of the suit that much more compelling. I also appreciated the understated special effects. They are incorporated into the film's flow instead of acting as a separate showpiece unto themselves.
The acting in this movie is fantastic. Robert Downey Jr. was born to play this role. His naturally smooth, fast-talking style matches perfectly with the character of Tony Stark. Gwyneth Paltrow is surprisingly not annoying as his assistant and together they have a lot of fun with their interpersonal banter. Jeff Bridges is the perfect counter to Downey and is especially effective as his character takes a dark turn as the movie progresses.
Iron Man joins Batman Begins and X-Men 2 as one of my favorite superhero movies. 4.5/5