![]() What are you, like 80?” LaBeouf’s character asks at one point. “You know for an old man you ain’t bad in a fight. No, it isn’t a masterpiece, but without Crystal Skull we wouldn’t have Dial Of Destiny, which by all accounts is a fitting send-off.įor all the ropey GCI and bad accents, at 66 Indy’s still got it. If nothing else, think of Crystal Skull as the stepping stone needed to keep the franchise going long enough to be rescued by one final film. However flimsy its relation to actual cultures and mythologies, at least Crystal Skull is a film that seeks to excite audiences about the world, about history – in this day and age how rare is that? And no, dear god no, we don’t need the final twenty minutes.īut at the same time, Crystal Skull isn’t yet another Marvel film. That's where Indy (Harrison Ford) escapes certain death during an atomic bomb test by hiding in a lead-lined refrigerator in 2008's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.It made the. Yes, the depiction of native peoples is still problematic. No, we don’t need Shia LaBeouf’s cocky greaser, and we especially don’t need him swinging on vines like Tarzan. Yes, John Hurt, Ray Winstone and Cate Blanchett are all hamming it up. Yes, the extended Jeep chase through the jungle goes on too long and leans a bit too heavily into humour. It’s a delight to see him, no matter the context of the film around him. In short: time has passed but Indy is still Indy it’s the same silhouette, the same shivers when he picks up his fedora or cracks his whip. And, whatever you think of the nuclear fridge scene, Indy silhouetted against a mushroom cloud is an awesome image in the truest sense of the word – even if the later shot swapping out the mushroom cloud for an alien spaceship has the opposite effect. The world is changing, but he’s muddling through, just as Indy is meant to. He’s a man contending with old(er) age, fighting foreign elements both literally and culturally. He’s a man out of place, out of time, just as he looks to be ten years later in the new film. No, Indy doesn’t belong in the 1950s and he isn’t meant to. To hate the nuclear age stuff is to miss the point. Having Indy find himself in a mock town about to be blown apart by a nuclear test, only to survive inside a lead-lined fridge also caught some flak, with detractors arguing the series should stick to more realistic scenes like having Indy running from strategically-placed boulders, or drinking from the actual Holy Grail. From examining Roswell wreckage to “spying on the reds” and working for the OSS, it all fires the imagination in the way a good Indy film should (“Do you have any idea how many medals this son of a bitch won?” A colonel asks at one point). But, seeing Indy in the atomic age is fantastic, as is learning about his exploits in the 20 years since the previous movie. It’s something the new film looks to have rectified by bringing the Nazis back into the fold. ![]() Moving the action to 1957 with those pesky Ruskies as the villains wasn’t the most popular choice at the time. He’s making it up as he goes along, taking his lumps along the way when we see an OAP Jones getting knocked about by a Russian colonel, we’re not seeing a man past his prime, we’re seeing Indy do what he does. That’s the beauty of the character – for a good portion of the runtime Indy will be in over his head, scraping along by the skin of his teeth. Yes, he’s given less to do in Crystal Skull, but he’s never been some hand-to-hand master like James Bond. Indy’s age doesn’t detract from the action. Harrison Ford at 66 looks great and, compared to the 80 year-old Ford in Dial of Destiny trailer, he’s basically a spring chicken (Ford was a youthful 47 in Last Crusade, FYI). But, sixty six isn’t as old in 2023 as it was in 2008 – Brad Pitt’s about to turn 60, for Christ’s sake, and look at him. Harrison Ford was 66 when it was released. Also, the folding-stock model wasn't made until the early 60s, though the ones used might simply be stand-ins for AKS-47 rifles.First things first: yes, Indy is old in Crystal Skull. There is a very good possibility that the production crew used the Norinco Type 56 as a "stand-in" for Soviet AK-47s since there are not many genuine Soviet AK-47s in the US as well as the Type 56 looking like the original Soviet-made AK-47 rifles from a distance (the Norinco Type 56 has a smooth receiver cover that is similar to the ones used on the original Soviet AK-47). So, although AKs were around then, these particular models are an anachronism. ![]() Aside from the fact that the Soviets should not be using Chinese-made weapons, AKs with stamped receivers didn't exist until 1959, and the Chinese didn't go to the stamped receivers until 1963. ![]() Norinco Type 56Īlmost all of the AK-47-type rifles in this movie are stamped-receiver Chinese Norinco Type 56s (fixed stock) and Type 56-1s (folding stock), including the one used by Irina Spalko ( Cate Blanchett) during the chase. Also seen where Indy got the idea for his escape. M1s are slung over the shoulders of the guards that carry the mysterious Area 51 crate. ![]()
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