Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I saw this movie last weekend. Of course, I was disappointed. I mean nothing can compare to the excellence of the first three movies. (even Temple of Doom!) But what upset me the most was the sci-fi aspect of this movie. I don't want to give away the whole plot, but aliens? spaceships? Come on. Indiana Jones does not fall for such silly things.

I think part of the problem with this movie was the fact that people don't really know much about this crystal skull myth. Everyone knows at least something about the Holy Grail or the Ark of the Covenant. Even mystic temples in India seem more familiar than the idea of a fancy crystal skull with no carving markings.

I don't like aliens, and I don't like spooky alien heads. I like Mayan Temples and I like the idea of the crystal skulls, but I just don't like how they developed this story. It was entirely too unbelievable. It made me sad. I wanted to be involved in the story. I wanted to care about this legend. I thought the whole Communists thing was cheesy. I mean, it makes sense to have Russians as the villains, given that the movie takes place in the '50s. Maybe it's the fact that I don't particularly enjoy the '50s as a time period. I find it mostly bland and uninteresting. I am not interested in Communists or the Cold War or the homogenization of society brought on by suburbanization. I like Ike, I guess, but mostly, I remember him for D-Day and the military industrial complex.

So anyway, my area of historical interest basically goes from 1400s-1950 and then 1964-1977. Notice the gap from 1950-1964. HA!

This movie did not need to be made. I remember hearing rumors that the story was going to be about the mythical lost city of Atlantis. I think that would have been a better story. I will not be adding this to my Indiana Jones collection. Maybe in a few years, I'll reconsider. I will say that the special effects were fantastic...much better than the originals, which makes sense.